The river erosion protection project worth Tk 712 crore embankment are facing imminent threat. The erosion of the giant Tentulia River may occur again. As a result, there is an impression of panic among the people of Dhulia. Allegedly, a local group gave the opportunity to anchor ships with a large sum of money to unload sand, stones and bricks over the embankment. The government is losing revenue due to this. The locals demanded the intervention of the administration to protect the dam.
It can be seen on the ground that rows of cargo ships have been anchored along the river erosion protection dams on the east and west sides of Dhulia Bazar. Workers unload bricks, sand and stones from the ship. In this way, about 15/20 ships are anchored and unloaded with the embankment every day. During the anchoring, the geo-bag of the dam burst due to the push of the ship and the sand is merging into the river water. This is creating a new breakdown.
On condition of anonymity, the managers of several ships and locals said that an influential group of Dhulia Union was offering a chance to unload ships loaded with sand and stones. A fee of 500 to 1000 Tk is being taken per ship.
Rahmat Ali, a local resident, said that the geo-bag is moving away with the soil and the soil below is starting to break again.
According to the data, in the last few years, about one and a half kilometers of Dhulia Union has been submerged in the river due to the erosion of the Tentulia River. In 2020, ECNEC passed the river protection dam project at a cost of Taka 612 crore to protect Dhulia and Barisal's Durgapasha. The state minister for water resources inaugurated the river bank protection project under the project in October 2021. Geo bags were dumped in an area of three and a half kilometers from Mathbaria to Durgapasha in Dhulia Union. The locals were relieved due to this.
Upazila executive officer upon asking said that no ship can anchor using the river protection embankment. Actions will be taken after receiving complaints.