River erosion has caused extensive damage to houses and crop fields in a number of districts, forcing many families to leave and move to other places.
More than a hundred houses were destroyed as a surge of upstream water caused Jamuna river water levels to rise, resulting in river erosion in Saghata and Fulchhari upazilas of Gaibandha.
In the last week, river erosion ravaged hundreds of houses in Katlamari, Ratanpur, Balasi, Singria, Patilabari, North Dighalkandi and several other areas of Saghata while Patilabari Shelter Project and Dighalkandi Bazar remain in a vulnerable state. Traders in Dighalkandi Bazar were forced to move elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Chaygharia village of Kanchipara union in Sundarganj upazila is bearing the brunt of the rapid erosion of the Teesta river.
Brahmaputra flood control embankment has become vulnerable to erosion in along a 2.5 km zone stretching from Singria Bazar to Katlamari. If the embankment fails, several thousand hectares of arable land in Gaibandha and neighbouring Bogra district could be inundated.
Abdul Hamid, chairman of Uria union in Fulchari, said more than 50 families lost their homes in a week because of extensive erosion at three places in the union.
Erosion affected 30 families in Fazlupur union, its chairman, Joynal Abedin, said.
Hamid and Joynal said the upazila nirbahi officer and local water development board authorities had been informed.
Abdul Awal Mia, executive engineer of Gaibandha Water Development Board, said sandbags were being laid down to try to control the onslaught of the erosion as part of emergency procedures underway.
Meanwhile, in Birganj of Dinajpur, erosion of the Dhepa river had badly affected areas adjacent to Bhadga bridge on the Dhaka-Panchagarh highway and nearly 40 acres of arable land had been inundated.
The river, flowing by Kuritakia, Ghoraband, Kajalgram and a number of other places, meets the Punarbhaba river in Dinajpur district town. Erosion of the river has damaged arable land as well as several village roads from Kuritakia Bazar to Birganj municipality.
People in Kuritakia village have petitioned the local authorities to take measures to prevent further damage but their appeal, they said, has not been prioritised.
Local upazila parishad member Dulal Chandra Roy said they applied to the director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board and to Climate Change Trust Fund officials for assistance but to no avail.