“My heart races every time I think of Sidr. I can’t sleep at night. My house was blown away by the wind in the blink of an eye. My goats and cows died under flood water.”
Md Bashar of Nilganj union in Kalapara upazila was talking about the memory of the hard time during Sidr.
On November 15, 2007, super cyclone Sidr hit the coastal region of Kuakata and its surrounding areas; destroying the lives of the coastal people. Their lives were hit by uncertainty. Many people lost their lives while many had to start living under the sky.
Even though 14 years have passed, coastal protection barrier has not been built yet. During heavy rains the crops are destroyed as water enters through the damaged embankment. The pond with fish enclosure sinks. Panic is triggered among people during tidal waves as there is no strong embankment. Salt water rises and destroys the crop.
The flood control dam at Nizampur village in Mahipur union of the upazila was terribly damaged during the last cyclone Amphan.
Cyclone Sidr on 15 November 2007 caused damage in various parts of the embankment in Nizampur village. After that the Nizampur dam was damaged by the cyclone Nargis in 2008, Aila in 2009, Mahasen in 2013, Komen in 2015, Royanu in 2016, Mora in 2017, Fani and Bulbul in 2019.
Although the embankment was rebuilt three times with several repairs, water enters the locality through the erosion-prone part of the Andharamanik Rriver at an unusually high tide.
At least 3,000 acres of land in Puran Mahipur, Yusufpur, Nizampur, Komarpur and Sudhirpur villages of the union were inundated. Farmers have not got the desired crop in 14 long years. In the financial year 2017-18, the ring embankment was constructed by the Water Development Board to prevent river erosion. Due to the recent cyclone Amphan, the dam has again been severely damaged in various places.
Zaheer Nazir, a resident of Nizampur, said, “We are always scared. We are given hopes of protection but the dam has not been built yet.”
Lecturer Shah Alam, a resident of Nizampur village, said that people of five villages have not been able to cultivate in any land for ten years since Sidr.
“After that the Water Development Board built the ring dam here to alleviate the suffering of the people but it disappears during any cyclone,” he added.
Chairman of Mahipur Union Parishad Haji Fazlu Gazi said thatmost of the people in the area are fishermen.
Some make a living by farming. Nizampur and Sudhirpur villages of this union are adjacent to the estuary. They have to survive by fighting the tide. There was no dam here previously. 850 meter long ring dam has been built here which has been damaged by Amphan.
Arif Hossain, Executive Engineer of Water Development Board’s Kalapara zone said “The CEEP project is currently underway. Work on 48 and 47/2 polders is in progress. Many places will be protected if the 38 km work is completed in polder 48 and 17 km in polder 47/2. Sometimes we repair the most damaged areas.”
