Every year, the south-western coast of the country is devastated by some cyclone or tidal wave. This creates an acute shortage of safe drinking water and food. Village after village was flooded after the dam broke. The courtyard of the homestead became waterlogged. Suffering begins with the young children and elderly people of the family.
Unable to adapt to these, some have already migrated to the cities. And some still cling to the place of birth and live in the ancestral home.
When this season of the year comes, the anxiety of the people of this area increases. When the storm will rise, when the dam will break and the houses will sink – these thoughts fall on the foreheads of the residents. When they get the signal of such a cyclone including Rimal, they prepare to go to a shelter or a safe relative’s house. But how many days will the people of the coastal town survive fighting with nature? How long will safe food cry for water?
After how many days the policy makers of this country will build a permanent dam for them, the question remains. Cyclone Rimal is coming again this year. The Met Office said the cyclone is likely to hit within the next few days. But how much preparation has been done along the coast to deal with this cyclone?
Meanwhile, there have been collapses at various places of Shakbaria and Kapotaksha river in Koira, coastal region of Khulna. Even if there is no storm, the normal tidal water has broken the dam at various places and the water is about to overflow. If even a part of this dam breaks, large areas will be flooded. About three lakh people in the region will be trapped in water, whose anxiety has reached extreme levels before the cyclone arrives.
When the month of May comes, their screams and cries start. Even though some people have come forward, there is no permanent solution even today. Although some allocations are made every year for renovation, the work is of very poor quality. As a result, fear remains in the place of reforms.
Most of the time the local people’s representatives and the water development board (Paubo) avoid their own responsibilities and blame each other. As a result, the common people here have to bear the usual suffering. For this, there is no alternative to sustainable embankment and permanent development to keep the coastal towns on the map of this country.
We have seen that many civic organizations including the Sundarbans and Coast Protection Movement have demanded a special allocation in the national budget for the development of the disaster-hit south-west coast in June. Those who have been agitating and struggling to keep coastal towns alive for a long time.
Meanwhile, PUBO has prepared a list of dangerous dams in Koira of Khulna and Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira. They have also started renovation work in some areas. Among these, it is believed that the risk will be reduced after the completion of the mega project of the dam in North and South Bedkashi Union of Koira. However, there is no progress in this project.
About 20 percent of the budget of Tk 1,23 crore for embankment at Shyamnagar in Satkhira has been completed. Besides, a source said that 35 percent of the work worth Tk 172 crore 31 lakh has been completed in Koira in Khulna. But if the work continues at such a slow pace, it will be difficult to sustain the coast. For this reason, the progress of the work is not possible without the supervision of the authorities by changing the strategy in the government action plan and involving the local public representatives. The government will be more zealous and sincere in the permanent solution of these problems; We hope that urgent steps will be taken to ensure sustainable dam construction and clean water.