Jamuna devours village, 12 shops in a day
This primary school at Charpechakola in Bera upazila of Pabna district is on the brink of extinction as erosion by the Jamuna has taken a serious turn in the area.Photo: STAR
The Jamuna devoured 12 shops at Kazirhat launch ghat under Bera upazila in the 24 hours until 9:00pm on Wednesday while a villages in the upazila has been eroded by the river during the period, leaving at least 300 people homeless. A primary school and a brick-built mosque in the affected Char Panchakola has been washed away by the erosion while houses, schools and mosques in Nagarbari, Raghunathpur, Protappur, Gonpotdia and Char Panchakola areas of the upazila are still under erosion threat. Workers of the Sirajganj division of Water Development Board (WDB) are dumping sand bags and logs in the eroded portions to protect the other areas from onslaught of the Jamuna. Bera upazila Parishad Chairman Md Azizul Haque Arzu claimed that the Jamuna devoured around 300 acres of cultivable land and over 200 houses in Char Panchakola village in a week. The erosion-hit people have taken shelter at other villages of the upazila, he added. The erosion has taken a serious turn at Kazirhat point. At least 60 to 80 people have been shifted to Notakhola from Kazirhat launch ghat area. Nagarbari port terminal is also under the threat of erosion as a big portion of Nagarbari-Notakhola road has gone into the river. Md Rafikul Islam, secretary of 'Nagarbari Port terminal Traders' Association, has urged the WDB officials to take immediate measures to protect over 350 fertiliser warehouses from erosion threat.
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