What was once a mosaic of fertile fields and vibrant villages in Bhabodah of Jashore district has now been swallowed by weeks of floodwater, showing no sign of receding!
More than five lakh people in over 150 villages across Jashore and Khulna districts are trapped in a worsening humanitarian crisis, their homes, schools, farmland and livelihoods devastated.
The deluge, triggered by torrential July rainfall, has been compounded by years of river siltation, poor drainage and what locals describe as ‘decades of mismanagement’.
The worst-hit areas are Abhaynagar, Manirampur, and Keshabpur in Jashore and Dumuria and Phultala in Khulna.
On August 7, the Bhabodah Water Management Songram Committee submitted a six-point demand to the Jashore Deputy Commissioner, holding the Water Development Board (WDB) directly responsible for it.
Among their demands are the opening of all sluice gate vents, acquisition of land for the Amdanga canal, and fast-tracking the 81-kilometre river dredging project.
At present, only eight of the 21 vents in the Bhabodah sluice gate are operational, far from sufficient to drain the floodwaters. The committee alleges that poor decisions by the WDB have severely hindered natural water outflow.
Though an estimated Tk 1,250 crore was spent on Bhabodah-related projects over the past decade, locals claim no sustainable solution has been achieved. Allegations of corruption in project implementation are rife, with much of the funding reportedly misappropriated.
A Chinese expert team recently visited the Bhabodah sluice gate and offered long-term solutions, yet public trust remains low. Repeated unfulfilled promises and a lack of transparency have eroded confidence among flood-affected residents.
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Experts continue to advocate for the TRM (Tidal River Management) method, which utilises natural tidal flows to remove silt and restore river navigability.
A pilot TRM project in Beel Khukshia was previously successful and is now seen as a potential long-term remedy for Bhabodah.
The local committee has urged immediate implementation of TRM as part of their demands.
Nearly five lakh residents face an uncertain future, their only hope lying in urgent government action—grounded not merely in funding and promises but in transparent and accountable delivery of sustainable solutions.
Experts also point to unplanned human interference in natural waterways as a major cause of the crisis. Tidal flows, once instrumental in keeping local rivers navigable, have been disrupted by the construction of coastal polders in the 1960s and poorly planned sluice gates and embankments.
Excessive silt buildup now causes floodwaters to spill into residential areas during monsoons.
A visit to several villages in Manirampur upazila, including Kultia, Lakhidanga, Baje Kultia, Aminpur and Hasadanga, revealed the dire conditions.
Laxmi Rani Biswas of Lakhaidanga lamented, “How long must we live in water like this? There’s no point in asking anyone for help anymore.”
Mita Khatun of Aminpur said their home has remained flooded for over a month, forcing them to cook on the veranda.
