Flood-control embankments increasing crop risks in Sunamganj haor

Embankments constructed each year at considerable public expense to protect crops in the haor wetlands of Sunamganj are now creating new challenges.

The natural flow of rainwater has been obstructed, leading to waterlogging in several areas, while in others, breaches in embankments have caused paddy fields to be inundated.

This year, the recurrence of waterlogging has brought renewed scrutiny to the annual implementation of numerous embankment projects in the haor.

In an effort to relieve waterlogging, local communities have cut sections of embankments in various locations, while clashes have erupted over efforts to protect them.

Farmers within the same haor have become divided—some advocating for cutting the embankments, others for preserving them. The administration has had to impose section 144 in two areas to prevent embankment cutting. In one tragic incident, a young man lost his life after being buried under soil while attempting to cut an embankment.

Farmers and researchers who have worked in the haor region for many years argue that the repeated use of temporary embankments at the same locations is avoiding a permanent solution.

They state that the authorities continue to spend public funds on earthen embankments each year without taking into account the natural hydrology of the haor, including its rivers, canals, and water flow systems. Without proper planning, they warn, the crisis will persist.

This year, under the Cash-for-Work (Kabita) programme, embankment construction and repair works were carried out across 710 projects, covering 602 kilometres, at a cost of Tk 1.45 billion (145 crore) in Sunamganj’s haor region.

One of the largest haors in Sunamganj is Dekhar Haor. In the Utaria area, where the Mahasing River meets the haor in Shantiganj upazila, a crosswise embankment has been constructed across the river, known as the Utaria embankment.

On the southern side of the river, work was carried out under seven separate projects at a cost of Tk 12 million (1.2 crore) this year.

To the west of the Utaria embankment lie the haors of Chhaiyakitta and Guraduba, while to the east are Dakua and Digdair haors. These are comparatively higher lands, whereas the lower areas form the main haor basin.

Recently, when waterlogging occurred, local farmers cut a section on the eastern side of the embankment to create a channel for water drainage.

However, the following day, officials from the administration and the Bangladesh Water Development Board instructed them to repair the cut section.

Fearing legal consequences, the farmers refilled the channel at their own expense, which subsequently increased water pressure in the lower parts of the haor.

On Saturday, a section of embankment in the Melani area of Dekhar Haor collapsed, allowing water to enter the haor. Thousands of farmers made desperate efforts to save it.

The haor spans approximately 24,000 hectares of cultivated land across four upazilas in the district. Within the same haor basin, several smaller haors exist under different names.

At a temporary tea stall along the slope of the Utaria embankment, several farmers rested under the intense sun.

They expressed the view that a sluice gate, instead of the embankment, would have prevented the current crisis. Despite raising this demand for over a decade, no action has been taken.

Farmers believe that if a permanent solution were implemented, there would be no need for annual projects.

They allege that such projects continue because certain groups benefit financially from the embankment works.

Expressing frustration, farmer Al Amin, 30, from Astama village said, "If there are no embankments, there will be no income. We ask for a sluice gate, but they build embankments instead. If a sluice gate were in place, the haor’s paddy would not suffer damage."

Another farmer, Md Koyaj Ali, 73, remarked that in his childhood, there were far fewer embankments in the haor. Rainfall was heavier then, yet such problems did not arise.

Water would naturally drain through canals and rivers to downstream areas. Now, he said, the natural drainage paths have been obstructed, leading to the current crisis.

Amid rising tensions over embankment cutting, the administration imposed Section 144 in Sadar upazila on 4 April and in Shallap upazila on 10 April to maintain order.

On Sunday, in the Ghoradoba Haor of Madhyanagar upazila, 18-year-old Arman Hossain died after a mass of soil collapsed on him at a cut section of a crop protection embankment.

Sunamganj lies along the foothills of the Meghalaya range. Heavy rainfall occurs both in the upstream areas of Cherrapunji in India and in Sunamganj itself, resulting in frequent flash floods descending from the hills.

In the past, local farmers undertook embankment construction on their own initiative wherever necessary to protect haor crops. However, because the haor had a high water retention capacity and allowed rainwater and upstream flows to drain naturally with ease, embankments were not extensively required.

Azizur Rahman, a resident of Sunamganj, has worked for many years on various haor development projects and is currently conducting research on embankments.

He stated that embankment construction in the haor began in 1968. These earthen embankments were built on a temporary basis solely to safeguard crops during the harvesting season.

Once the season ended, farmers would promptly cut them to facilitate boat navigation and fish breeding in the haor. Over time, however, the number of embankment projects gradually increased.

At one stage, a contractor-based system operated. In 2017, excessive rainfall and upstream flooding caused embankments to collapse, submerging all crops in the haor.

This led to allegations of irregularities and corruption against contractors. Consequently, the authorities removed contractors from the process and introduced a system in which local farmers and beneficiaries implement embankment works through Project Implementation Committees (PICs).

The local administration became directly involved in this process. A district committee was formed to implement and oversee embankment works, headed by the Deputy Commissioner, with the Executive Engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board serving as member secretary.

At the upazila level, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) chairs the committee. Each project is carried out by a committee of five to seven members comprising local farmers and beneficiaries.

A single PIC may undertake work worth up to Tk 3.5 million (35 lakh). Although this system initially appeared effective, local political actors and influential individuals gradually became involved, both openly and covertly, giving rise to controversy.

As a result, allegations of irregularities and negligence have emerged almost every year.

Researcher Azizur Rahman said, "A portion of the haor used to serve as a water reservoir, and it was connected to a channel through which water could be discharged. Now, there is no reservoir and no channel. The bed of the haor has been filled up. There must be proper drainage arrangements. At the same time, the number of embankments must be reduced. The construction of embankments in arbitrary locations without technical assessment must be stopped."

Like Dekhar Haor, waterlogging caused by excessive rainfall has damaged crops in several haors across the district this year. Local farmers and their advocates argue that unplanned and indiscriminate construction of embankments has created these problems.

Moreover, the limited provision for water drainage associated with these embankments has further aggravated the situation.

This issue has affected multiple haors across the district, including Halir Haor in Jamalganj upazila, Noluar Haor in Jagannathpur, Chandrasonar Thal Haor in Dharampasha, Khai Haor and Pakhimara Haor in Shantiganj, and Chhayar Haor in Shallap upazila.

In many haors, local people have installed pumps on their own initiative to drain excess water in an effort to protect crops.

Farmers in these areas report that the earthen embankments constructed annually are eroded by strong monsoon currents, with the displaced soil settling back into the haor.

This has led to the siltation of the haor as well as its rivers and canals, thereby reducing water retention capacity.

Additionally, sediment carried by upstream flows contributes to this process. The embankments also obstruct the natural flow of water within the haor.

In this regard, AKM Abu Nasar, president of the Sunamganj Environmental Protection Movement, stated, "Embankments are necessary; however, the question now is whether so many embankments are required. The embankments themselves are now placing the haor at risk."

In Sunamganj Sadar Upazila, authorities spent Tk 6.2 million (62 lakh) on nine embankment projects in 2020. The following year, they allocated Tk 52.8 million (5.28 crore) across 27 projects.

Allegations later emerged that 14 projects, costing Tk 32.2 million (3.22 crore) and undertaken in the name of crop protection embankments along the left bank of the Cholloti River, were unnecessary.

Investigations revealed that these projects had no connection to crop protection; instead, they functioned as local access roads. Subsequently, nine of the projects were cancelled.

In 2019, a case was also filed over allegations of unnecessary embankment construction in Dekhar Haor.

Each year, concerns arise regarding “unnecessary projects” or those unrelated to crop protection in the haor, and this year is no exception.

On the western bank of Kanlar Haor in Sadar upazila, near Balikandi village, authorities have recently completed an embankment project. They approved the project two months after the scheduled deadline. However, local residents state that it serves as a rural road providing access to the haor.

Firoz Mia, member secretary of the Tk 1.6 million (16 lakh) project, acknowledged that it would facilitate the transport of harvested paddy and fish from the haor.

In Dowarabazar upazila, a road in Goreshnagar village under Dohalia union was also constructed under the guise of a crop protection embankment.

Allegations have it that although the upazila committee did not approve the project, those involved secured approval from the district committee through undue influence.

Similarly, in Joalbhanga Haor, authorities constructed an embankment in the Roshonogor area along the bank of the Surma River to prevent river water from entering the haor.

However, when waterlogging occurred due to excessive rainfall, local farmers cut sections of the embankment to enable drainage.

Farmers on the western bank of the haor claim that the embankment was constructed without proper planning, which has disrupted water drainage.

Farmer Redwan Ali, 47, from Ichagari village near Dekhar Haor said, "In 2018, when an embankment was constructed beside my village, I faced a lawsuit after I described it as unnecessary. Now I see embankments being built everywhere in the same manner, yet no one raises any concerns."

Obaidul Haque, general secretary of the Sunamganj district committee of the Haor and River Protection Movement, stated that they inform the administration and the Bangladesh Water Development Board every year about unnecessary projects.

However, he alleged that collusion among stakeholders prevents any effective action.

Md Shamsuddoha, executive engineer (Power Division-2) of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, claimed that authorities conduct feasibility assessments and seek public opinion before approving projects.

He stated that there are 58 regulators across different haors for water drainage, although not all are operational.

He emphasised that embankments remain necessary because crop protection is directly linked to national food security and the livelihoods of local communities.

At the same time, he acknowledged the need to consider the ecological balance of the haor and stated that they are working with these factors in mind.

Mohammad Ilias Mia, deputy commissioner of Sunamganj, stated that authorities take action whenever they receive complaints of negligence or irregularities in embankment works.

He said that while one individual may consider a project unnecessary, a larger number of people in the same area may demand it.

Decisions, he explained, prioritise the views of the majority. However, he stressed that no work should harm the natural environment of the haor, and relevant instructions have been issued accordingly.

AKM Saiful Islam, professor in the Department of Water and Flood Management at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, emphasised that planning must consider not only paddy cultivation but also fisheries in the haor ecosystem.

In his view, the recent problems should guide future embankment planning. Each embankment must ensure adequate water drainage, maintain the natural flow of water in the haor, and remain environmentally sustainable.

Referring to the increasing rainfall caused by climate change, AKM Saiful Islam told Prothom Alo, "Constructing earthen embankments worth millions of taka every year does not offer a permanent solution. Sluice gates must be built where necessary. In some locations, it is possible to construct permanent, environmentally friendly structures. Haors, rivers, and canals must be dredged."