Erosion devours 3 villages

At least three villages are completely wiped off the map of Bhuyanpur, part of central Bangladesh district Tangail, as the Jamuna and other major rivers has receded rapidly after flooding for about two weeks.

Three fourths of another village, Rajapur, of Gabshara union of Bhuyanpur where about 400 families lived, was also lost to the Jamuna, leaving homeless over 300 families.

Erosion is likely to worsen over the next three days with flood forecasters warning that rivers across Bangladesh may rapidly recede during the time amid continued onrush of water from upstream areas.

‘Dikrir char is a history now,’ said Shuruzzaman, who represented the inhabitants of the char as a member to the Gabshara union parishad.

Dikrir char alone constituted a ward of the union but became non-existent when the latest flood washed away 70 houses over the past few days, reported the New Age correspondent in Tangail.

About 1,400 voters elected Shuruzzaman but almost all of them disappeared since June when intermittent heavy monsoon rain and sudden release of water from barrages built across the border in India caused rivers to rapidly swell and fall setting off severe erosion.

Wahid Ali, member of another ward at Gabshara union, said that erosion caused two small villages — Khandakarpara and Foldapara — to disappear since late September.

‘About 100 families were driven out of their homes for good,’ said Wahid, adding that he did not know where they had gone searching for home.

Barely 100 families survived on the remnant of Rajapur village, a major part of Gabshara union that used to accommodate 400 families, despite continuous erosion.

Erosion along riverine Bangladesh is common, particularly during monsoon, but this year it made headlines because of its intensity as rivers flowed with immense strength throughout monsoon often interrupting ferry services connecting national highways.

A BIWTA estimate showed that erosion along the Padma got so severe at some places that it gobbled up 12 square kilometre of land at a stretch.

The New Age correspondent in Lalmonirhat reported that northern rivers eroded 713 houses between Sunday and Monday in northern region.

Although the latest flood did not hit all 16 northern upazilas, they were experiencing erosion more or less because of rivers discharging huge amount of water, he said.

Water Development Board’s north region chief Jyoti Prashad Ghosh said that 49,117 hectares of agricultural land disappeared because of erosion.

He said that 63,956 houses were lost to erosion since June when monsoon flood first hit the country’s north.

The WDB’s data showed that erosion completely destroyed 11 villages in the north.

The villages are Uttarbalapara, Singimari and Gobordhon of Moheshkhocha, Lalmonirhat; Shonkordoho and Purba Ichli of Gangachara, Rangpur; Gabura and Haguria Hashim of Pirgachha, Rangpur; Char Bidyananda of Rajarhat, Kurigram; Chheratari of Ulipur, Kurigram; Char Belka of Sundarganj, Gaibandha; and Char Khatamari of Dimla, Nilphamari. 

Thousands get displaced in Bangladesh every year because of erosion, especially in chars, also known as sandbars.

The victims of erosion represent the poorest segment of the country’s population for whom options are only few when they are forced to relocate houses to new places.

Initially they move to relatives or embankments but eventually they mostly migrate to cities’ sprawling slums.

A comprehensive official estimate of erosion victims is never available from the government for the institute, Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services, responsible for tracking it observes erosion only along the Brahmaputra, the Padma and the Jamuna.

But this year erosion in the north was mostly along the Teesta, Dharla, Karatowa, Atrai and other rivers.

Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre’s daily flood bulletin on Monday showed that five rivers flowed above their danger levels. The Karatowa flowed 88cm above its danger level at Chak Rahimpur in Gaibandha.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net