Sunamganj Correspondent
The central committee of the Haor Bachao Andolon (Save Haor Movement) organized a human chain in protest against irregularities, corruption, mismanagement, and delays in the construction of crop protection embankments in Sunamganj’s haor areas.

The human chain was held on Wednesday, February 26, at 11:00 AM at the Traffic Point (Alfat Uddin Square) in Sunamganj town. It was presided over by t Haor Bachao Andolon central committee vice president and valiant freedom fighter, Advocate Asad Ullah Sarkar, while the event was conducted by embankment affairs secretary Raju Ahmed.

Speakers at the human chain included the general secretary of the Haor Bachao Andolon central committee and editor and publisher of Daily Sunamkantha, Bijon Sen Roy;the Haor Bachao Andolon central committee organizational secretary, Lecturer Dulal Mia; committee member and women’s leader Koli Talukdar Arati; president of the Sunamganj district committee of Haor Bachao Andolon, Yakub Bakht Bahlul; district general secretary Obaidul Haque Milon; organizational secretary and journalist Shahidnur Ahmed; Md. Nazrul Islam; general secretary of the Haor Bachao Andolon Shantiganj upazila committee, Abu Sayeed; president of the Bishwambharpur upazila committee, Abdul Gani Ansari; general secretary, Hasan Bashir, among others.

During the human chain, speakers stated:”Sunamganj is a haor-dependent district. The livelihood of its farmers relies on Boro crops. As per regulations, the crop protection embankment construction was supposed to begin on December 15 and be completed by February 28. However, our observations reveal that only 50 to 60 percent of the work has been completed so far. With only two days left until the deadline, it is unclear how the remaining 40 to 50 percent of the work will be completed. Despite the incomplete work, the Water Development Board continues to produce progress reports on paper. If the embankment construction is not completed on time, there is a high risk of early floods and flash floods destroying crops. If such negligence leads to crop submersion, those responsible will be held accountable under the law. Additionally, we will stage a siege at the Water Development Board office and the district administration office.”

The movement’s leaders further added:”We have repeatedly demanded that no political favoritism be involved in the embankment work. However, as in previous years, political interference has taken place, resulting in incomplete construction. The Water Development Board claims that 90 percent of the work is finished, which is completely false. We reject this report. We demand that the authorities complete the embankment construction immediately.

The deadline for embankment completion is February 28, yet work is still ongoing in several upazilas. Despite this, the Water Development Board insists that the work is nearly complete. If the embankments break and haor areas are flooded, we will face disaster. This directly affects the farmers’ survival. Boro crops are the only means of livelihood for farmers. Do not toy with their lives.

We want to make it clear that if the embankments break and haor areas are flooded, we will lay siege to the Water Development Board and the district administration office, along with the farmers. Haor Bachao Andolon will also file lawsuits in every upazila. We demand the protection of farmers’ crops; otherwise, a movement will be launched. We will not spare anyone.”*

Notably, in 12 upazilas of Sunamganj, 53 out of 137 small and large haors are undergoing embankment construction under 686 projects, with an estimated budget of 127 crore taka. The designated timeframe for constructing haor crop protection embankments was from December 15 to February 28.