River erosion is forcing thousands of people of Kaliganj Union in Kurigram’s Nageswari upazila to live in miserable condition as locals blame the government of paying no heed to their plight.
Residents of 10 villages along the Dudh Kumar River have lost arable land, schools, madrasas, mosques and their houses in the course of a year. Many more establishments in the upazila face an imminent threat. Locals said government agencies took no steps to address the issue despite repeated appeals.
Momin Uddin, resident of Dhanir Vita village, said he had lost his house thrice to river erosion. “I will lose everything again if the government does not do something.”
In the nearby village of Kumriarpar, Krishna Chandra Roy struggles to meet the ends. He lost everything to Dudh Kumar River. Kachir Vita resident Kulsum Begum’s story is similar. She lives in a shanty on others’ land. She summed up the situation: “We do not want money from the government. All we request the government is to do something about river erosion.”
Kaliganj Union Parishad’s Chairman Nur Islam Mia said he contacted concerned departments to look into the problem in his area. “I have only received verbal assurance from government officials but nothing happened. More than a thousand people in my area lost everything to erosion last year,” he said, requesting the government to address the issue at the soonest.
Kurigram Water Development Board sub-division 3 Deputy Divisional Engineer Md Matiar Rahman said the river was under the jurisdiction.
