2,000 families living in fear of eroding Padma

GOALUNDO, June 18 (UNB): Originally a resident of the IsaeelShibrampur area in Goalundo upazila's Daulatdia union, JalilSikder now lives with his family in a hutment on a Good Samaritan's land in Nasir Sardar Para.

"We were rendered homeless after our house was washed away by the mighty Padma river in front of our eyes last year. Thanks to a benevolent person in IsaeelShibrampur, we have a roof over our heads," he says.

Riverbank erosion is a common problem along the Padma during the rainy season.

And Jalil is also not the lone sufferer. Over the years, several families in the riverine areas of the upazila'sDaulatdia and Debgram unions have been rendered homeless by such engulfing calamity.

Some 2,000 families still living in the riverine areas of the two unions are now spending sleepless nights. Their fears are tangible, with monsoon rains barely a week away.

"Every day, the river is washing away some three to four bighas of land. The erosion aggravates during the monsoon when the Padma overflows its banks. It's high time that the authorities took safety measures without any delay," says Hazrat Sheikh, a resident of the Devgram's Munshibazar area.

"In the past three years, some 300 families have been forced to abandon their houses in Devgram. What we get from the local authorities after every monsoon is only assurances of better preparedness for next year," says Ruby Khatun, a resident of Aziz Sardar Para.

Upazila Chairman MostafaMunshi admits the problem the riverine areas face during the monsoon. "I have sought Rajbari-1 MP KaziKeramat Ali's help in this regard," he says.