In a twist of irony, a multimillion project said to deepen an estuary in Setiu, Terengganu, has worsened the situation, destroyed the ecosystem and further harmed local fisherfolk, stakeholders said.

The project, which was apparently meant to deepen the waters at the estuary and make it easier for fisherfolk to reach open water, led to the riverbank's erosion.

At the same time, the sand dredged from the river there is being sold overseas, deepening the pockets of the company, royal-linked M & Z Production Industry Sdn Bhd, instead of the estuary as intended.

A visit to the site in January saw fisherfolk and locals having to painstakingly find safer routes to shore, as more and more newly-formed sandbanks exist in the middle of the river mouth, especially after the monsoon season.

"This project did not deepen the estuary at all. They dug up sand but not in the area where we were facing difficulty reaching the sea.

"They only dredged up sand for their profits and made things harder for us," a fisherman in Kampung Mangkok, who only wants to be known as Pok Ngah, told the writer.

"Now, it is even harder to pass through the estuary. It is...