Photo shows a crop field partially devoured by the eroding Brahmaputra River in Ratanpur upazila of Gaibandha district- FE Photo GAIBANDHA, Oct 08: As much as 20 bighas of arable land was eroded in the last one month due to the Brahmaputra River erosion in Fulchhari Upazila's Ratanpur village, while 15 houses were also lost in the river, forcing residents to take refuge in other people's homes.
During a visit to the spot, the FE found some locals are preparing to move their houses and furniture, while some are cutting down trees as well as crops from the remaining land along the banks.
Abdus Sattar, 70, a farmer from Madhya Ratanpur village, said in the last one month, two bighas of his arable land has been washed away by the river. "Our houses are under threat. If the erosion continues like this every day, the entire village will be wiped out. No measures are being taken to prevent erosion."
Jamat Ali, 35, a farmer from the same village, said three bighas of his land comprising rice plants have gone under the rive within a month. "On one hand, there is intense sun and heat, and on the other hand, there is the fear of river erosion. We are in great danger."
Rupali Begum, 48, a housewife from the village, said, "The river has taken everything from us. We had one bigha of land, which also went into the river 25 days ago." Urging the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Gaibandha, to take measures to prevent the disaster, locals said that erosion continued to take their land away.
The district's BWDB Executive Engineer Hafizul Haque said erosion occurs during the fluctuations of water level in the Brahmaputra. He also said a research project has been ongoing for a permanent solution to the problem and works will be initiated in this regard as soon as possible.
However, he further added, that currently there is no allocation for an action plan to prevent erosion in Ratanpur village.
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