Sylhet haor farmers concerned as dam project delays

The farmers in the haor areas of Sylhet are afraid of facing losses again in the coming season as the preliminary works for constructing dams have not been started yet to protect their crops from floods.

They said that the authorities have not formed project implementation committees (PIC) consisting of local farmers and stakeholders who construct the dams every year.

However, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials said the dam construction project has been delayed as many haors in Sunamganj are still under water.

Some 27 teams are conducting surveys in 12 upazilas of the district to review the situation and the PICs will be formed as soon as possible, they said.

In April this year, a substantial amount of crops in several haors in Sunamganj were damaged due to the flash floods. Farmers accused the authorities of irregularities, negligence and delay in constructing dams to protect their crops from flood water.

Senior government officials came to Sunamganj after the flood and announced that the initial process of constructing the dams will begin in October this year. They also declared to form the PICs by November.

As per the BWDB policy, the construction of the dams is supposed to start from 15 December and be completed by 18 February.

However, the authorities have not yet completed the preliminary survey works.

According to sources, 28 project implementation committees were formed to construct and renovate dams in the hoar areas of Sunamganj's Jagannathpur upazila last year.

However, as most of the dams were damaged in the flash floods in April, the BWDB has set a target of forming 50 committees in the upazila this season. But, no committee was formed till 12 December.

Sirajul Islam, a farmer from Jangannathpur upazila, said, "We have been observing the same negligence in constructing the dams every year. The survey works in our haor has not started yet. It is not clear when the committees will be formed. If the work is not started on time, the crops in the haor areas will be in risk of being damaged."

Hasan Ghazi, field officer of the BWDB office in Jagannathpur, said, "The initial work is going on to form 50 project implementation committees and around 30 committees have been submitted to us."

Bijan Sen Roy, general secretary of Haor Protection Movement, said the crops in the haors will be at risk of being damaged again if there is a delay in constructing the dams.

"No project implementation committee has been formed yet. We are afraid that there will be a delay in constructing the dams," he said.

As per the BWDB policy, each project implementation committee is formed with five to seven members who are generally the local farmers and stakeholders. A committee can be involved in construction works worth a maximum of Tk25 lakh.

The BWDB authorities construct dams through these committees in 46 haors in Sunamganj district.

Mohammad Shamsuddoha, executive engineer of the BWDB (division-2) in Sunamganj, said, "Many haors are still under water. As a result, it will not be possible to start dam construction works there even if we wish."

"We are preparing to start working in the dry areas. The survey works in those areas have already been completed. The project implementation committees will be formed there soon," he added.

AKM Abdul Monayem, deputy assistant engineer (in charge) of the BDWB, Dirai upazila, told The Business Standard, "We are now conducting public hearings to form project implementation committees. The committees will be formed in a couple of days. The dam construction works will start after that."