NETROKONA — Local farmers across the Dingapota Haor basin in Netrokona’s Mohanganj Upazila are facing severe anxiety after thieves removed over 2,000 revetment concrete blocks from the Chorhaijda flood protection embankment.
The widespread looting began late on the night of 18 August in front of Karachapur village under Gaglajur Union. Residents reported that local perpetrators have continued to strip the infrastructure under the cover of darkness. Alarmed by the structural damage, Water Development Board (WDB) Sub-Assistant Engineer Md Enayet Hossain lodged a General Diary (GD) with Mohanganj Police Station on 23 August.
Constructed in 2019 at a cost of 39.64 crore taka, the 5.3-kilometre permanent block-armoured embankment serves as a crucial barrier against early flash floods, safeguarding thousands of hectares of Boro paddy crops across the wetland basin. The removal of over 2,000 protective blocks leaves the earthen foundation exposed to rapid erosion, threatening the livelihood of local farming communities. Residents noted that this incident follows an earlier act of sabotage roughly six weeks ago, when miscreants breached several sections of the embankment without facing effective legal enforcement.
Local eyewitness Bazlu Mia from Borantor village recounted seeing 27 to 28 individuals from neighbouring Dhorun Baniyahari village extracting concrete blocks and loading them onto boats on the night of 18 August. When he attempted to intervene, the group threatened him with traditional weapons and subjected him to verbal abuse. The conflict escalated the following evening when suspects launched a retaliatory attack on Bazlu Mia’s fish depot, prompting him to file a formal complaint with the police.
Gaglajur Union Acting Chairman Ashraf Chowdhury confirmed that residents of Dhorun Baniyahari village were involved in the theft and asserted that the missing material could be recovered directly from their homesteads. He noted that community leaders are attempting to mediate the return of the stolen blocks alongside law enforcement efforts. Local farmers, including Tanim Khan Adnan and Bayezid Hossain from Borantor village, expressed frustration over delayed administrative action, warning that even minor seasonal flooding could now breach the compromised embankment and submerge their fields.
Authorities have issued a strict ultimatum to those involved. Mohanganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Hafizul Islam Harun and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Amena Khatun confirmed that law enforcement personnel visited the site and identified the suspects at their residences. Following discussions with local community leaders, officials have granted a two-to-three-day deadline for the perpetrators to return the stolen blocks to the embankment site, warning that failure to comply will trigger immediate and rigorous legal proceedings. Executive Engineer of Netrokona WDB, Sakhawat Hossain, verified that the agency is coordinating closely with local administration to secure the structural restoration of the embankment.
