An endless process of destitution goes unnoticed
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Photographs showing schools or homes being devoured by rivers are often published in national dailies. During lean days, those are accommodated on the front page but related stories are marked for inside pages. Nobody, actually, takes the problem of river erosion seriously considering it as a localised and natural phenomenon. But, in reality, it is not.
When a flood or a cyclone strikes any part of the country, the media lends continuous coverage of the devastation caused to life and property and the government extends all possible help to the victims. Floods and cyclones are natural calamities but none can predict their timing.
But river erosion is a continuous act of the nature that gains pace and ferocity during the monsoon. Obviously, river erosion does not take any human toll. For the people living along the river banks move to safety before their homes get devoured by the marauding rivers. A family affected by a flood or a cyclone can soon start life anew since the neither of the calamities deprives it of its land permanently. But a river erosion victim loses everything, his or her arable land and shelter. Thousands of rural families, including the affluent ones, living along the banks of ferocious rivers are becoming paupers because of river erosion every year.
The pace of river erosion has increased in recent years in both the northern and southern parts of the country. The rivers -- the Padma, the Meghna, the Jamuna, the Teesta, the Muhuri, the Mahananda, the Hizla, the Tetulia, the Ilisha and scores of tributaries of the major rivers -- are continuously eroding their banks. None, including the administration, cares to help the erosion victims. Those who have the means buy some land in nearby places and shift their homes threatened by river-erosion.
And the poor and low-income families migrate to cities and towns and start living in slums or pavements. The heads of these families turn to rickshaw-pulling or other manual works to earn a living. A large part of the slum population is thought to be victims of river erosion.
The main reason for increasing intensity of river erosion in recent years is attributed to the rise of the river beds because of the deposit of silts in increased quantities during the lean season. The Ganges barrage constructed at Farakka in the Indian state of West Bengal is largely blamed for the reduced flow and consequent silting of rivers in Bangladesh.
There is a forecast that at least 45 districts would encounter the problem of severe river erosion this year, meaning that more arable land, roads and other rural infrastructures would disappear and thousands of families turn homeless with none to look after their welfare.
The government and scores of private agencies and non-governmental organisations rush food and shelter for the victims of floods and cyclones. Donors, quite rightly, extend all possible assistance generously to the affected people. But the continuous process of destitution through river erosion has been going on unnoticed for years after years.
What is more intriguing is that the government gets the ownership right over the lands belonging to the erosion victims in the event of their re-emergence. The erosion-victims are given priority over others during the re-distribution of the khas land. But in most cases, such lands are grabbed by influential people with the help of local land officials. There should be a provision to return the newly emerged char lands to their original owners after proper verification of necessary documents.
In addition to causing sufferings to thousands of people, the river erosion is giving rise to disputes with country's immediate neighbours. According to media reports, the country stands to lose its land area because of the intensified erosion activity of the rivers bordering with India and Myanmar. In most cases, these rivers, including the Dholai and the Surma in Sylhet, the Mahananda in Chapainawabganj, the Muhri in Feni, the Tombru canal in Bandarban and the Feni in Kharachari, are eroding their banks on the Bangladesh side and allowing emergence of new chars on the opposite side. According to a government estimate, the country has already lost around 15000 hectares of its land due to erosion caused by 15 common rivers at 29 points with India and Myanmar.
During the partition of India in 1947, it was decided that the main stream of the common rivers would determine the borderline of the two countries-India and Pakistan. However, no guideline was given on border demarcation in the event of erosion of banks of these rivers.
The government should address the problem of river erosion rather seriously and develop a permanent mechanism to help the erosion-victims locally. There is no denying that the administration does not have the means and the technology to tame the eroding rivers. But it can, at least, try to come in aid of the victims of river erosion. [email protected]
When a flood or a cyclone strikes any part of the country, the media lends continuous coverage of the devastation caused to life and property and the government extends all possible help to the victims. Floods and cyclones are natural calamities but none can predict their timing.
But river erosion is a continuous act of the nature that gains pace and ferocity during the monsoon. Obviously, river erosion does not take any human toll. For the people living along the river banks move to safety before their homes get devoured by the marauding rivers. A family affected by a flood or a cyclone can soon start life anew since the neither of the calamities deprives it of its land permanently. But a river erosion victim loses everything, his or her arable land and shelter. Thousands of rural families, including the affluent ones, living along the banks of ferocious rivers are becoming paupers because of river erosion every year.
The pace of river erosion has increased in recent years in both the northern and southern parts of the country. The rivers -- the Padma, the Meghna, the Jamuna, the Teesta, the Muhuri, the Mahananda, the Hizla, the Tetulia, the Ilisha and scores of tributaries of the major rivers -- are continuously eroding their banks. None, including the administration, cares to help the erosion victims. Those who have the means buy some land in nearby places and shift their homes threatened by river-erosion.
And the poor and low-income families migrate to cities and towns and start living in slums or pavements. The heads of these families turn to rickshaw-pulling or other manual works to earn a living. A large part of the slum population is thought to be victims of river erosion.
The main reason for increasing intensity of river erosion in recent years is attributed to the rise of the river beds because of the deposit of silts in increased quantities during the lean season. The Ganges barrage constructed at Farakka in the Indian state of West Bengal is largely blamed for the reduced flow and consequent silting of rivers in Bangladesh.
There is a forecast that at least 45 districts would encounter the problem of severe river erosion this year, meaning that more arable land, roads and other rural infrastructures would disappear and thousands of families turn homeless with none to look after their welfare.
The government and scores of private agencies and non-governmental organisations rush food and shelter for the victims of floods and cyclones. Donors, quite rightly, extend all possible assistance generously to the affected people. But the continuous process of destitution through river erosion has been going on unnoticed for years after years.
What is more intriguing is that the government gets the ownership right over the lands belonging to the erosion victims in the event of their re-emergence. The erosion-victims are given priority over others during the re-distribution of the khas land. But in most cases, such lands are grabbed by influential people with the help of local land officials. There should be a provision to return the newly emerged char lands to their original owners after proper verification of necessary documents.
In addition to causing sufferings to thousands of people, the river erosion is giving rise to disputes with country's immediate neighbours. According to media reports, the country stands to lose its land area because of the intensified erosion activity of the rivers bordering with India and Myanmar. In most cases, these rivers, including the Dholai and the Surma in Sylhet, the Mahananda in Chapainawabganj, the Muhri in Feni, the Tombru canal in Bandarban and the Feni in Kharachari, are eroding their banks on the Bangladesh side and allowing emergence of new chars on the opposite side. According to a government estimate, the country has already lost around 15000 hectares of its land due to erosion caused by 15 common rivers at 29 points with India and Myanmar.
During the partition of India in 1947, it was decided that the main stream of the common rivers would determine the borderline of the two countries-India and Pakistan. However, no guideline was given on border demarcation in the event of erosion of banks of these rivers.
The government should address the problem of river erosion rather seriously and develop a permanent mechanism to help the erosion-victims locally. There is no denying that the administration does not have the means and the technology to tame the eroding rivers. But it can, at least, try to come in aid of the victims of river erosion. [email protected]