Dharla renders 500 more families homeless
Luckless people take shelter on roads
Erosion by river Dharla rendered at least 500 more families in six villages of Mogholhat union in Sadar upazila homeless in the last four days.
Over 300 bighas of cultivable land, ten fruit orchards, a mosque and a temple were devoured by the river, said Mogholhat UP chairman Habibur Rahman Habib.
The erosion-hit people have taken shelter on government roads and in relatives' houses, locals said.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader visited the affected areas on Friday noon. Lalmonirhat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mokhlesar Rahman Sarker and Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) officials were present.
During his visit GM Quader said that river erosion is making hundreds of people in the district houseless every year. The Dharla at Mogholhat is eroding away homesteads, cultivable land and orchards almost every day, he added.
"I have already talked with the Water Resources Minister Romesh Chandra Sen for taking steps to check Dharla river erosion permanently at Mogholhat", he said.
Erosion-hit freedom fighter Abu Bakkor of Badaitari village at Mogholhat said, "I have lost three bighas of cultivable land and homestead on Wednesday night. My five-member family has now taken shelter on the embankment".
I had two fruit orchards in this village and they were devoured by Dharla on Thursday noon. I used to earn Tk 25 to 30 thousand from my orchards yearly. It was the major source of income of my family," lamented Mazidul Islam, another erosion victim at same village.
The most affected villages are Badaitari, Bumka, Kurul, Etapota, Majhitari and Bowalmari of Mogholhat union.
Thousands other homesteads, vast cultivable land, orchards and important establishments in these villages are under erosion threat, locals said.
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