Left on their own to decide their fate, char people at Namapara area of Fulchhari upazila in the district were in a quandary over whether to wait for government initiative to save their land or get down to the work themselves with whatever they have. They chose the second option.
The result was a spontaneous involvement of people from all walks of life in building a makeshift barrage around their neighbourhoods, using indigenous technology.
With sand and bamboo, they started the barrage-building task on their own, without waiting for the government. The start of the monsoon meant that they took urgent action, since water from Jamuna has already started overflowing from its banks.
According to sources, water level has risen alarmingly high in Jamuna and rendered many char families homeless by eroding their land and sweeping away other physical property. Some have lost their homesteads, as well as farmlands.
There are fears that more land will erode away and the devastation will continue during the remainder of the monsoon season, which recently began.
Partly due to this apprehension and partly to protect their lives and lives of loved ones, locals decided to put up a protective barrier around their area last week. Accordingly, on Friday, they began gathering stalks of bamboo and sacks of sand near the riverbank.
People from all strata of society including day labourers, farmers, fishermen, adolescents, teachers, students, youths, religious and community leaders and public representatives are taking part in the work spontaneously and for no financial gain.
Relatively well-off individuals, educational institutions and socio-cultural organisations are bringing in cash money, bamboo stalks, plastic ropes and other essentials to expedite the process and finish the construction as soon as possible.
Ashraful Islam Titu, an inhabitant of the char, said, “The local office of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) was approached several times with the request to start a dyke construction so that seasonal erosion can be checked, but there was no result.”
This compelled the locals to act on their own initiative and build the dyke themselves, since awaiting government help would have meant further delay in the process and further risks to lives and property, he Ashraful explained.
While visiting the spot, the Dhaka Tribune found villagers, young and old, taking part in the work with excitement and enthusiasm.
Local UP Chairman Monotosh Roy Mintu said, “When there is mental strength in facing difficulty, integrity to encounter it, courage and determination to solve it and good leadership to see that everything is done as planned, it is possible to embark on such a plan.”
He expressed the hope that hundreds of houses, vast tracts of farmland, roads and other physical property would be safe after completion of the piling and dumping work.
UNO Mehedi-ul-Sahid said the locals set a unique example by taking such an initiative, which would hopefully inspire others in similar condition.
When contacted, Executive Engineer of BWDB Rezaul Mostafa Asrafuddowla said they could not start the riverbank protection work at the area due to fund constraints.
