Erosion by rain-fed rivers makes 500 families homeless
Fed by heavy downpour and onrush of water from the upstream hills, Someshwari River continues to devour areas at Dhakumara village in Durgapur upazila under Netrakona district.Photo: STAR
Erosion by the rivers flowing through Kurigram and Netrakona districts has taken a serious turn as water levels of the rivers marked a sharp rise due to torrential rain in the last two days and onrush of water from hills across the borders. Over 500 families in four upazilas of Kurigram and one upazila of Netrakona have lost their homesteads to the rivers and taken shelter in nearby villages. In Netrakona, The River Someshwari devoured at least 100 dwellings at Dakumara, Kamarkhali and Ranikong villages under Durgapur upazila, leaving over 600 people homeless. The erosion victims have taken shelter at nearby villages, according to our correspondent. Local people said they dumped sandbags, bamboos and logs along the riverbank to check erosion, but their attempt went in vain due to strong current in the river. Our Kurigram correspondent reported that erosion by the rivers Brahmaputra, Dharla, Teesta and Sonabhari has rendered about 300 families at 15 villages in four upazilas homeless in the last two days. About 22 feet of an embankment has been eroded by the Brahmaputra at Astamir union under Chilmari upazila. Water gushing out through the eroded portion of the embankment has damaged Irri-boro crops on around 40 acres of land in the area Daikhawa camp of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Sadar upazila is also under threat of erosion. According to sources, 20 families of Natarkandi Natun Char in Astamir union and 45 families of Raniganj union under Chilmari upazila, 15 families of Madoner Char, and 185 families of Kodalkathi, Shazai and Natungram villages under Rajibpur upazila have lost their houses to the Brahmaputra and Sonabhari rivers. Teesta and Dharla erosion have made ten families in Biddananda union under Rajahat upazila and 17 families in Mogalbasha union under Sadar upazila homeless during the period. Sub-divisional Engineer of the Water Development Board (WDB) Md Jafar Ali said we have already informed the higher authorities to take immediate necessary steps to protect Daikhawa BDR camp from onslaught of the River Brahmaputra.
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