Erosion caused by the Brahmaputra and the Meghna rivers in Gaibandha and Bhola has rendered more than 900 families homeless in the districts in the last few days.
Our Gaibandha correspondent reported that the mighty Brahmaputra River wreaked havoc in Fulchhari and Shaghata upazilas causing extensive damages to crop fields and human habitation.
The river intensified its erosion at Kanchipara, Ratanpur, Singria, Namapara and Kamarpara of Fulchhari upazila and Gobindi, Bashata, Munshirhat and Sathalia of Shaghata upazila making river basin people more worried about their homesteads and arable lands.
More than 500 families living on the bank of the rivers have already lost their homes due to the erosion and vast tracts of arable land were also devoured by the rivers, locals said.
Besides, a good number of academic institutions, SKS Foundation office, temples, mosques, markets and flood control embankments have come under threat of erosion, they said.
On face of the erosion, Gobindi Government Primary School was auctioned for Tk90,000. The graveyard, community centre and Eidgah field of this area have already disappeared in the river.
Apart from it, hundreds of families living on the river bank are in serious panic and anxiety as their homesteads including the standing crops fields might be eroded any time, said Mosarrof Hossain Sweet, chairman of Shaghata union parishad.
Meanwhile, the homeless people have taken shelter at nearby government embankment and other safer places of the upazilas. They are passing their days in hardship under the open sky for want of drinking water and food, he also said.
M Habibur Rahman, chairman of Fulchhari upazila, said the river erosion destroyed at least 400 homesteads including 1,000 acres of arable land of the upazilas in the last two weeks.
When contacted, executive engineer of BWDB Abdul Awal acknowledged the river erosion in the district and said they had already started development work at few places in the upazila on a small scale.
In reply to a question, the executive engineer said they could not launch the development work at the vulnerable areas of the upazilas to a great extent due to fund constraints.
In Bhola, about five hundred families have been rendered homeless due to continuous erosion of the Meghna River which took serious turn due to onrush of tidal water in Monpura upazila of Bhola during recent times.
According to sources, Katakhal Bazaar, Andir Par, Kacharir Dogi and three other villages were devoured by the river leaving many families homeless. They lost their homesteads and crop lands.
Hundreds of families in Monpura Sadar union parishad and four villages including Ramnewaj Bazaar and Kawarteck are also facing threat of erosion, sources added.
When contacted, Abul Kalam, assistant engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board, Bhola said they prepared a project to place concrete blocks for protecting the banks from erosion and sent it to the higher authorities.
Ershad Ali Khan, upazila nirbahi officer of Monpura upazila admitted the situation and said the government would give khas land to the homeless families’ for their rehabilitation.
Contacted Selina Akter Chowdhury, Monpura upazila chairman also echoed Ershad.