Arman Mia, an 18-year-old young person from Shaliyani village in Madhyanaga, died when part of the embankment collapsed. Arman had gone to the embankment site to save their land, but the risky structure ultimately took his life. Earlier, to save crops from waterlogging in Rupeshwar Haor in Madhyanagar upazila, farmers from several villages cut the Shauldwari embankment under sub-project No. 8 of Gurmar Haor. On April 12, Arman Mia was trying to create a drainage path for the stagnant water. Arman's family had cultivated about 15 bighas of land on lease this year, most of which is now submerged.
Waterlogging was not on the Haor's hazard list. Due to several weeks of continuous rainfall, varying degrees of waterlogging have occurred across almost all haors in the district of Sunamganj. Farmers say that thousands of hectares of crops have already been damaged. Haor is traditionally a place of flash floods, sometimes lightning, and afal (high waves). For the past few years, rainwater has been standing in the crop field for weeks, leading to waterlogging. Waterlogging in haor areas is not caused by a single factor; it's mainly due to human interventions, though natural conditions also play a role. Based on recent events and long-term patterns, the key reasons are: a) Unplanned embankments (poor design & placement) b) Lack of drainage infrastructure (sluice gates/outlets) c) Excessive and continuous rainfall d) Sedimentation (silt) in rivers and canals e) Disconnection from natural water flow system f) Weak maintenance system (especially under PIC) g) Delayed decision-making & administrative barriers h) Disrespecting the local knowledge.
Among all the above excuses, the most important is the last one. "Disrespecting the local knowledge. When visiting the site of the Gujauni embankment, a sharecropper came forward and said, "The Utharia embankment was built without consulting anyone. Even after we demanded that a provision be created to flush out the excess water, no one listened. If it rains again, it will be impossible to save the standing crops, which will be ready soon for harvest." It will take about ten more days for full-scale harvesting and threshing to begin.
A farmer ferries salvaged rice bundles across the flooded expanse of a haor — harvesting by boat where fields once stood dry. For many, this is the only way to rescue what little remains before the crop is lost entirely. Photo: Mintu DeshwaraLast Monday (April 13), the Mahasing River in the Haor was overflowing. The Water Development Board constructed embankments in several parts of Joykolos Union. Among them, the Utharia embankment is considered highly vulnerable. Finding no other way, the farmers of the area decided to create a drainage path by cutting the embankment. It is unclear whether this alone will eliminate the risk, as the river's water level is high and more rain is expected. If rainfall continues, water may overflow from elevated riverbanks (locally called afor) and flood the Haor. In some areas, such overflow has already been observed. More than 10,000 hectares of land in Sunamganj have already gone underwater. Conflicts have also arisen between the administration and farmers over cutting embankments to drain water, even leading to loss of life.
The problem of water stagnation did not exist before the highly ambitious 'all-weather' road was constructed without the necessary number of 'water gates'. Recently, demand for the construction of water-regulating structures has been rising. The media is also sometimes focusing on that as part of the solution. Kashmir Reza, president of the Environment and Haor Development Organisation, said that waterlogging has become a new disaster this year. Although sluice gates are essential for controlling rainwater, there has been no proper planning. Farmers are repeatedly suffering in their struggle to protect crops. Unplanned embankments are pushing them into disaster. Haor residents want relief from this situation. But there are several weak points in the sluice gate solution. A sluice gate creates an opening in an embankment, which becomes a hydraulically vulnerable point, that is more likely to fail under the strong pressure of water created by flash floods (pahari dhal). In hilly areas, where sudden upstream water from Meghalaya hills hits with force, engineers often prefer continuous earthen embankments without openings to reduce breach risk. Apart from that, sluice gates require regular operation (open/close timing), mechanical maintenance, sediment clearing, and other maintenance. Historically, agencies like the Bangladesh Water Development Board struggled with: a) limited manpower, b) weak local management systems. So, policymakers feared that "A poorly maintained sluice gate is worse than no gate at all."
Ripened rice stalks lie completely submerged beneath floodwater in a haor. What was once considered a place of flash floods and waves has now gained a new hazard — stagnant waterlogging caused not by nature alone, but by embankments built without adequate drainage. Photo: Mintu Deshwara
According to experts and experienced professionals, sluice gates could be politically and economically contentious infrastructure. To maximise the benefits of fisheries, interested parties can hold back water at their discretion. People looking for better crops can open the gates to drain out the water. Farmers want quick drainage, while fishing folks want water retention. To avoid these conflicts, authorities often avoided installing control structures altogether.
Why is this approach now being questioned?
Recent waterlogging events in places like Sunamganj show the limitation more vividly:
•
Water enters haor → but cannot exit
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Continuous rainfall → trapped water → crop loss
So many experts now argue:
"Embankments without controlled drainage are incomplete infrastructure."
Recent experience demands a quick shift in the thinking process.
Knee-deep in stagnant floodwater, a haor farmer races against time to cut and gather ripening paddy. Photo: Mintu Deshwara
Pressure is growing for policy reconsideration toward: a) selective installation of sluice gates and box outlets, b) combining flood protection + drainage management, and c) reintroducing community-managed water control.
A sustainable solution to waterlogging in haor regions requires a hybrid governance model that comprises "Scientific planning + Community participation + Strong accountability"
Without aligning these three pillars, infrastructure investments may continue to produce unintended disasters rather than resilience.
Gawher Nayeem Wahra Disaster Management Expert and the Founder Convenor of the Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Forum. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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