FENI, Aug 28: The Border Security Force (BSF) of India retreated after the BGB and locals blocked them from cutting the canal dam in the district.
The BSF tried to cut the Ballamukha dam on the zero line along its Kalikapur border in Mirzanagar Union of Parashuram Upazila. However, their efforts failed in the face of BGB and locals.
Commander of Feni 4 BGB Battalion Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Mosharaf confirmed this on Wednesday (August 28) morning.
According to local sources, at the beginning of this monsoon season, Belonia Town in Tripura State of India was flooded due to the pressure of mountain landslides. When the water flow increased due to heavy rains, the Indians cut the dam at the mouth of the Ballamukha Canal with the help of BSF personnel. Due to this, the water of Ceylonia River in Bangladesh part increased and flooded many villages in Parashuram and Fulgazi upazilas. At one point, they tried hard to cut the dam on the Bangladesh side. However, that effort failed in the face of BGB and local residents' obstacles.
Due to power cut and no network, the matter was not known until now. After the situation became a littel bit normal, there was a storm of discussion among the local people.
In this regard, several local residents said that in the morning of August 20, the villagers were asked to be careful about the Ballamukha Canal dam. BSF tried to cut the embankment of the Bangladesh side around 8 pm that day. Indian citizens also came forward to help them. The BSF allegedly fired several blank rounds to disperse the Bangladeshi residents occupying the dam. Later, the members of Nij Kalikapur BGB camp came forward with the help of the villagers. The Indians could not cut the embankment of the Bangladesh section of the canal in the face of protest. This saved Mirzanagar Union and the lower areas of Parashuram from more severe floods.
Md Yunus Mia, an elderly resident of Nij Kalikapur, said that if the dam was cut, more water would have entered Parashuram along with Mirzanagar Union. He also said that during the flood of 1983, due to the cutting of this dam, Parasuram and Fulghazi suffered huge flood damage.
Naik Rumman Sharif of Nij Kalikapur BGB camp said, we took a position on the dam with the villagers so that the dam could not be cut in any way. We are always vigilant about this.
Feni 4 BGB Battalion Commander Lt Col Mohammad Mosharf Hossain said that an attempt was made to cut a dam on the Indian side of the border in that area. Later, when the BGB members went there and sounded the whistle, the local people came forward. The local residents raised the voice from the Bangladesh side. Then the BSF moved from the spot.
However, the BGB commander said he was not aware of the blank firing by the BSF.
Incidentally, there is a dead river in Kalikapur in Mirzanagar Union of Parshuram Upazila, west-south of Char adjacent to Muhuri River on the Indian border. It is known as Ballamukha Canal. The Ballamukha Canal starts from Kalikapur itself and joins the Ceylonia River through the villages of Rangamatia, Fakir Khil, North Kautli, Bainya Village, DM Sahebnagar, Melaghar, Mirzanagar, Gadanagar, East Sahebnagar, and Kalikrishnanagar.
