Jamuna devours Chowhali upazila parishad bldgs

The Jamuna has devoured both the administrative buildings of Chowhali upazila Parishad in Sirajganj as erosion by the river has taken a serious turn in the area.Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Abdulla said two buildings of the upazila parishad went into the riverbed on September 15.“I am now holding office at upazila health complex while other offices of the upazila administration have been shifted to Chowhali Degree College,” the UNO said.Nasrin Akhter, vice chairman of the upazila parishad, said erosion by the river has made at least 1800 families of five unions homeless in the last two weeks. Khaspukuria union and Bagutia union are the worst affected areas, he added.The entire upazila headquarters faces onslaught of the Jamuna as a large portion of the river bank protection embankment raised by the Water Development Board have been damaged, Nasrin Akhter further said.Sources in Pabna Water Development Board said 39 thousand sand sandbags 5,192 CC blocks have been dumped in the damaged portion of the embankment to check further onslaught by the river.“Asian Development Bank (ADB) has taken up a Tk 3,000 crore project to build an embankment from Jamuna Bridge point to Aricha port,” said Yunus Ali, assistant engineer of WDB Tangail division.