India starts placing blocks on Kuhua river embankment, border residents in Feni fear erosion

Work has begun on placing cement-concrete blocks at various points of the embankment on the Indian side of the Kuhua river along the Parshuram border in Feni. But on the Bangladesh side, construction and repair of the embankment remain incomplete. Residents living along the river are now worried about erosion and flooding.

Local sources said the block-laying work began on Friday morning (November 6) at Amjadnagar, adjoining Belonia in India, at several points of the Kuhua river embankment. As the news spread, local residents gathered at Khilpara in Uttar Kolapara, Bangladesh. They demanded that the embankment on the Bangladesh side be repaired and blocks placed there quickly.

Locals say that unless the Bangladesh embankment is made durable, vast areas including Uttar Kolapara, Dakshin Kolapara, Baspadua and Parshuram Bazar could face flood risk.

In 2003, about 25,000 CC blocks were made to build the embankment of the Kuhua river at Uttar Kolapara. Work on building the embankment with those blocks also began on the eastern side of the village railway bridge. But the work stopped after the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) objected.

Later, several attempts were made to build the embankment on the Bangladesh side, but they could not be carried out because of India's objections. When a severe breach appeared in the Ballamukha embankment in 2024, some of the CC blocks made at Kolapara and Niz Kalikapur were used there.

Sources said a flag meeting was recently held between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the BSF over building and repairing the Kuhua river embankment on both sides of pillar number 2163 on the Bangladesh-India border. At the meeting, both sides agreed to repair 2.3 kilometres of embankment at Amjadnagar, adjoining Belonia in India, and 250 metres at Uttar Kolapara, adjoining Parshuram Bazar in Bangladesh.

Sources at the Water Development Board (WDB) said that after reports appeared in the media, funds were allocated to build 250 metres of the Kuhua river embankment adjoining the Mazarbari graveyard at Uttar Kolapara. But the work is still not finished. Locals say about 200 metres more of the embankment still need repair beyond that.

Quite some time after the understanding between the two countries, the WDB began building the embankment on the Bangladesh side on an emergency basis. But locals complain that the pace and scope of the work are not enough for what is needed.

Local resident Mostafa Khokon said about 200 metres more of the embankment have not been repaired. If the Bangladesh side is not repaired with blocks, several thousand families around the Mazarbari mosque and graveyard will be harmed by floodwater.

Upazila BRDB chairman Abu Taleb Ripon said India's embankment is about four feet higher and more durable than Bangladesh's. If the embankment is not repaired quickly, Uttar Kolapara, Dakshin Kolapara and Parshuram Bazar could be badly damaged. In this situation, he demanded the necessary repairs from Feni-1 member of parliament Rafiqul Alam Majnu and the WDB authorities.

Local resident Emran Hossain said they suffered greatly in the last flood. Work on placing CC blocks is under way on the Indian side. Their embankment could be finished within a few days. If the work on the Bangladesh side is not finished quickly before that, complications could arise in building the embankment later.

Belal Hossain, a resident of Khilpara in Uttar Kolapara, said the embankment on the Bangladesh side of the Kuhua river is risky at several points. With CC blocks being placed on the Indian side, worries about the Bangladesh embankment have grown further. There is doubt whether the embankment in its present condition can withstand the pressure of the water. If the embankment breaks, Parshuram Bazar, Uttar and Dakshin Kolapara and vast surrounding areas will be badly damaged.

Mohammad Monirul Islam, executive engineer of the WDB's Feni office, said work on building the Kuhua river embankment had begun on an emergency basis. Since CC blocks are now being placed on the Indian side, the matter will be inspected on the ground and necessary steps will be taken.