GAIBANDHA, Aug 17: River erosion by the Brahmaputra, one of the mighty rivers of the country, has become a regular phenomenon on its right side along the river of four upazilas here in recent days creating untold sufferings to the victims.
According to sources due to fall and rise of the water level of the river the erosion starts at the western side of the river of Sudarganj, Sadar, Fulchhari and Shaghata upazilas of the district making the people living on the river bank more worried.
Very recently, the erosion by the river has taken serious turn in many river side unions of the upazilas due to fall of the water level.
The affected unions are Horipur, Chandipur, Sreepur and Kapasian unions under Sundarganj upazila, Kamarjani and Gidari unions under Sadar upazila.
The other unions include Kanchipara, Urya, Gozaria, Fulchhari and Bharatkhali unions under Fulchhari upazila and Holdia and Shaghata unions under Shaghata upazila of the district.
Over 300 families living on the bank of the rivers have already lost their home due to recent erosion and vast tracts of arable land and academic and religious institutions were also devoured by the rivers, the locals said.
Besides, a good number of academic institutions, SKS Foundation office, temples, mosques and haats and bazars including flood control embankment located in the river side are in great threat as the rivers are coming fast to them day by day due to erosion, they added.
Apart from it, hundreds of families living on the river bank are in panic and anxiety as their homesteads including the standing crops land might be eroded anytime, said Mosarrof Hossain Sweet, chairman of Shaghata union parishad.
Meanwhile, the homeless people had taken shelter at nearby government embankment and other safer places of the upazilas, they were passing days in hardship under open sky for want of drinking water and food, he also said.
When contacted, executive engineer of BWDB Abdul Awal admitted the river erosion in the district and said they had already started development work at few places in the upazilas on a small scale.
In reply to a query, the executive engineer said they could not launch the development work at the vulnerable areas of the upazilas on a large scale due to fund constraints. sarker.fe.gai1971@gmail.com
