Kurigram, May 23, 2025 :- The protection dam on the right bank of the Dudhkumar River collapsed due to rain water before the construction work was completed in Bhurungamari of the district. The collapse of the dam before the flood has caused panic among the locals.
It is learned that a project titled 'Management and Development of Dudhkumar River flowing through Kurigram District' was taken up at the ECNEC meeting on August 10, 2021, under the initiative of the Ministry of Water Resources. The cost of the project is estimated at 692.68 crore taka. Which is currently being implemented under the supervision of the District PAUBO in various packages.
Under that project, the Kurigram Water Development Board has taken up the right bank protection project of the river to prevent river erosion in Islampur village of Bhurungamari upazila. The cost of the 500-meter bank protection dam is estimated at Tk 104.255.733 crore. The contractor named TI-PVL-ZI JV of Dhaka has been awarded this work under package no. 14. The work of this package was supposed to start in mid-2022 and be completed in December 2023, but the contractor has not been able to complete it yet. In between, the project has been extended twice. Before the work was completed, a 12-meter section of the dam collapsed in the Samader Ghat area of Islampur due to heavy rains in the last few days and disappeared into the river.
Locals are worried about erosion as the dam collapsed after a small amount of rain before the work was completed and the flood had even begun.
Locals complain that the contractor has taken sand from the river and made blocks with it. It was not mixed properly. Since there was no soil under the dam due to the sand being taken, the dam collapsed with just a little rain water. In addition, the contractor is working in their own way because the monitoring system is weak.
Local resident Lutfar Rahman said, "We were hopeful when the construction of the dam to prevent river erosion began. But before the work was completed, the dam collapsed even with a little rain water before the flood arrived. They fear that the river erosion will intensify due to the flood if the bank protection dam is not repaired quickly."
Admitting that sand was being extracted from the river, Ariful Islam, the project manager of the contracting company, said that they had extracted sand from a distance of 200 meters from the bank as per the rules. However, some influential local people had extracted sand from near the bank, which caused a collapse in the dam. The collapsed area is being repaired. He denied any irregularities in the work.
Kurigram PAUBO Deputy Assistant Engineer and Officer-in-Charge Rafia Akhtar said that the matter has been discussed with the contracting company. Since the project work is ongoing, it is their responsibility. They have been ordered to redo the work on the collapsed part of the dam.
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