Due to the construction of drains by blocking the entrances of culverts in several places of Cumilla Sadar and Burichang upazilas on Dhaka-Chattogram highway, a vast tracts of land surrounding the culverts is threatened to be inundated and waterlogged during the monsoon.
According to sources, the Amtoli culvert near Mainamoti Cantonment is connected with a one kilometre long drain. Moreover, the only way to water-extraction from Amtoli area connecting Nischintopur, Kachiatoli and Gomati river is also through this culvert. An influential quarter has recently constructed drain blocking the entrance of the culvert and started to make houses by filling land and putting slabs on the drains in the surrounding areas. As a result, the entrance of the culvert has been narrowed down and people of the locality apprehend a widespread waterlogging in sounding areas due to non-extraction of water through the culvert.
The same way, the entrance of the culvert at Nazirabazar area under Burichang upazila has been blocked by filling land and thus the blocking water-flow completely. Construction of structures on the entrance of two more culverts at Korpai area has also blocked water extraction through the culverts completely.
Farmers of the neighbouring villages informed, due to blocking of entrance of the culverts, the surrounding areas would face permanent water-logging on both sides of the highways. They said, the culverts have been constructed on the road to exract excessive water from the open waterbodies beside the road, specially, during the rainy season. But due to making permanent structures on the entrance of those culverts,water logging is created in the areas.
Sources from the Department of Roads and Highways, Cumilla, informed, the culverts have been made in various places of the road to extract water from the open-waterbodies beside the roads. No one can fill up the land surrounding the culvert and thus stop water-flow through the culverts.
Local people, however, have demanded to remove all illegal structures from the entrance of the culverts to ensure free-flow of water through the culverts.
