Embankment construction demanded in Moulvibazar

The residents along the banks of the Dholai River staged a demonstration by forming a human chain at Kamalganj municipality in Moulvibazar demanding the construction of a permanent embankment and the placement of geo-bag pilings.

Hundreds of villagers in the area assembled near the embankment of the river and formed the human chain organised by Chaiyakhali Haor Unnayan (PABASS) Ltd around 12:00 AM to press home their demand.

According to locals, the residents of the area are passingd days in fear of erosion due to continuous rainfall and flash floods from upstream hill torrents. Every monsoon season, severe erosion causes significant damage to villages such as Rampasha, Rampur, Narayanpur, Chaitanyaganj, Kumrakapan, and Kandigaon—affecting around 10 to 12 villages in total.

In Rampasha village alone, about 40 to 50 families have already lost their homes and farmlands to the river and are now living in dire conditions. With the upcoming rainy season, locals are again gripped by fear of further destruction.

Finding no way, they formed the human chain.

Speakers at the protest stated that although the Water Development Board placed sand-filled geo-bags in some areas last year, they were only a temporary solution. Most of those bags have already been washed away, and the embankment is now in a highly vulnerable state. If the river level rises further, the embankment could collapse, flooding a vast area including 10–12 villages.

Many families have already been displaced due to river erosion over the past few years. Victims include Md. Abdun Noor Chowdhury, Md. Abdur Rob Chowdhury, Md. Abdur Razzak Chowdhury, M.R. Khan, Harish Mia, Azid Mia, Lotta Malakar, Nikil Malakar, Monindra Malakar, Joydhan Malakar, Probesh Kumar Pal, Pankaj Pal, Mahmuda Begum, Akhtar Mia, and many more, who have lost their ancestral homes and are now struggling to survive elsewhere.

Speakers at the human chain included Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ibrahim Mohammad Abduhu, General Secretary of Chaiyakhali Haor Unnayan Ltd. Wakil Ahmed, Nazmul Hasan Mithu, Fakhru Chowdhury, and Nikil Malakar, among others.

They also urged the authorities to intervene and stop the illegal use of poison in the river for fishing, which is causing serious harm to the local ecosystem.