KHULNA, June 7: Several hundred people suffered as 16 villages of Paikgachha Upazila in the district have been submerged on Saturday night after dyke collapse at Deluti Union.
The dyke was broken again by tidal surge of the River Shibsha after local people repaired it through volunteers' services.
Earlier, the polders no-20, no-20/1 and no-22 of Water Development Board (WDB) in Deluti Union were damaged as super cyclone Amphan hit Khulna coastal belt on May 20. Villagers repaired the dyke on May 28 after giving seven-day volunteer service, said Ripon Kumar Mondal, chairman of Deluty Union.
People of 16 villages have been directly affected; they took shelter on the dykes after the cyclone, and now they live under the open sky, he said.
"High tidal surge of Shibsha flooded Uttarpara of Village Geobunia, which crosses Parmodhukhali, Chakribakri and Modhukhali on the night and submerged 12 to 13 more villages till Sunday," he added.
If the authorities did not take steps in this regard immediately, the entire dyke might go into the river anytime, said Selim Zahangir, mayor of Paikgachha Pourashava, adding that the risky dyke will be broken anytime if the authorities do not take emergency initiative.
Local people alleged that the dyke was found broken after the hit of Cyclone Amphan. The authorities were informed, but they did not take any steps.
Villagers demanded building sustainable dyke immediately adjacent to the riverside road to protect the villages from tidal surge.
Otherwise, most of the villages in the upazila will be flooded anytime, they feared.
Plying of different vehicles has been stopped in the most of the areas in the upazila.
WDB Engineers already visited the spot, the mayor said, adding "We have informed the local parliament member about the dyke broken".
When contacted, Akteruzzaman Babu, MP, said, "I have already directed the local WDB to build and repair the broken dyke to save the affected people.
