OUR CORRESPONDENT, Jamalpur

Erosion by the Jamuna River has intensified in Dewanganj upazila of Jamalpur over the past month, leaving vast stretches of cropland, homes, and several government establishments under threat.

Locals said that while the erosion has been continuing for the past three months, it turned severe last month, devouring at least 100 houses, several hundred acres of cropland, and around 100 metres of the key Dewanganj-Kholabari road along the riverbank in the upazila.

Shukkur Ali, 65, a resident of the Kholabari area, said he had previously lost his homestead to Jamuna erosion seven times, along with almost all of his ancestral land. “It has swallowed my house yet again. How many times shall I have to suffer this ordeal?” he lamented in a trembling voice.

Shamim, another local resident, said the ongoing erosion has severely disrupted communication in the area by damaging rural roads.

“Many educational institutions have either already been devoured by the river or are now at risk,” he added.

Farmer Lutfar Mia said his maize and chilli fields were entirely lost to the river. “It has left me destitute.”

Nazma Khatun, a housewife, said, “Before the elections, many people came with promises, but now no one is to be seen.”

Locals expressed concern that, unless urgent measures are taken, four government establishments, a mosque, more houses, and vast tracts of cropland may soon be lost to the river.

Md Nakibuzzaman Khan, executive engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board in Jamalpur, said the erosion had intensified along a 1.5-kilometre stretch of the riverbank after a sandbar emerged along the opposite bank of the Jamuna.

“We carried out riverbank protection work along 157 metres during the last flood. A proposal has recently been sent for another 220 metres of temporary protection work,” he added.