Every monsoon, as the Kushiyara River swells, the people of several villages across Moulvibazar Sadar upazila brace for the inevitable -- floodwaters creeping into their homes, submerging roads, and washing away their livelihoods.

At the heart of this crisis lies the Kushiyara River Protection Dam, a structure built in 1970 but now standing in a vulnerable state, breached repeatedly for over the past two decades.

Due to the breaches, homes, roads, markets, schools, other establishments, and vast stretches of cropland get submerged under water.

Despite patchwork repairs and desperate pleas from residents, a lasting solution remains out of reach.

For years, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the local union parishad have attempted partial fixes, yet these have done little to resolve the issue.

Local residents, who have suffered immeasurable losses, demand that the authorities take immediate steps to renovate the dam completely.

"During every monsoon, the dam gets breached several times, followed by flooding across different areas of the upazila. Crops get washed away repeatedly, causing significant losses to farmers, while residents also go through a lot of sufferings," said Swadhin Mia, a resident of Hamarkona village in the upazila.

"This situation has been persisting for the past 21 years. Despite repeated visits by local leaders and government officials over the years, nothing has changed yet," he added.

Since the dam is not listed with the Bangladesh Water Development Board in Moulvibazar, no formal project has ever been initiated by BWDB to repair it. While parts of the dam were later paved with LGED's funding and brick-soling by the local union parishad, the damaged sections remain unaddressed.

"Residents of Hamarkona, Brahmangram, Notunbasti, Muslimnagar, and parts of Sherpur Bazar villages bear the brunt of the flooding due to the damaged dam. Every year, hundreds of families become displaced and forced to seek shelter elsewhere after losing their homes to the flooding," said Humayun Mia, a resident of Hamarkona village.

Mudrat Ahmed Mohan of the same village shared, "Last year, the dam broke at three places, inundating the entire area. No government project was undertaken to repair it. Later, local Hamarkona Boys Club and Muslimnagar Oikya Parishad, with support from local affluent people, rebuilt the roads and constructed a bridge in the village that were damaged in flooding."

Residents of several other villages in the upazila echoed similar concerns.

Khalid Bin Wahid, executive engineer of BWDB in Moulvibazar, said a proposal for necessary repairs to prevent erosion in Brahmangram and Hamarkona has been submitted for funding. Repairs will commence once allocations are approved, he added.

Tajuddin, upazila nirbahi officer of Moulvibazar Sadar, said a letter has been sent to the local UP chairman to outline a project plan based on public needs. Further steps will be taken upon receiving a response, he added.