Our Correspondent, Tangail

Riverbank erosion at different villages under Govindasi union in Bhuapur upazila has resumed as the water level recedes in the Jamuna river.

The people of several villages, including Bhalkutia, Kostapara and Khanurbari, are passing sleepless nights as their lands and homes are under threat. Last month, flooding damaged their crops and cattle, leaving them in despair.

Jorina Akter of Kostapara in Bhuapur upazila said, “My house was partially submerged in water for the flood in July. I was starting to feel relieved when the water began receding in the last week of the month.”

“However, the mighty river devoured my home a few days back. I could do nothing to save it,” she said.

Bisha Mondol of Bhalkutia village said erosion has already claimed several homes along the river.

When the water level first began to rise in the first week of July, locals had urged authorities to take steps to check erosion; but nothing was done, he added.

Earlier, the river devoured around 300 homes at Kostapara, Khanurbari and Bhalkutia villages at the beginning of the monsoons.

The affected people had taken shelter at different embankments or at relative’s homes in nearby areas, said Ovijit Ghosh, a rights activist in Bhuapur and a resident of Kostapara village.

“The Water Development Board did not take any effective steps to protect the localities from the dreadful erosion,” he alleged. “The WDB dumped some sacks at Khanurbari area, but those bags were filled with earth and not sand.”

“Ever since a flood protection embankment was damaged in 2011, the local public representatives could not take proper initiatives to construct an embankment to meet the long standing demand of the riverside people,” he said.

Jahangir Hossain Mondol, former chairman of adjacent Nikrail union parishad, said Jamuna is devouring fresh areas in the 300-year-old localities almost every day due to a lack of any effective steps to protect the area from erosion.

Jhoton Chanda, upazila nirbahi officer in Bhuapur, said they have already informed the WDB about the fresh erosion of the river.

This correspondent was unable to speak to Md. Sirajul Islam, executive engineer of WDB in Tangail, despite several attempts over the phone.