Erosion by Sandhya on, no step yet to stop the onslaught
The Sandhya River continues to devour homesteads and crop lands at Chathalbari village in Uzirpur upazila of Barisal district. A portion of the village has already gone into the river.Photo: STAR
River Sandhya devoured a large number of homesteads and vast croplands in five unions of Uzirpur upazila in the last several months but no steps have been taken yet to stop the onslaught by the river. According to the villagers, hundreds of houses, two bridges, huge crop land, a cooperative bank building, government primary school, mosque, rice mill and a cyclone shelter have already gone into the river. They said about 88 educational institutions, two sub-post offices, five health centres, three bank branches, more than 100 residential and commercial establishments, and huge farmlands in Otra, Harta, Satla, Jalla and Borakotha unions are also under serious threat of erosion by the Sandhya. “We have repeatedly urged the authorities concerned to take immediate measures to check erosion by the river, but to no effect,” Uzirpur Upazila Samity secretary advocate Mainuddin Ahmed told this correspondent during a visit to some riverside villages on October 31. Harunur Rashid, a member of Borakotha union parishad, said the river devoured around100 houses in the union in last two months, leaving more that 600 people shelterless. We have already urged the officials of the Water Development Board (WDB) and the ministry concerned to take steps to protect the areas, but no step has yet been taken, the UP member said Uzirpur Upazila Parishad Chairman Abul Kalam Azad stressed the need for a sustainable river management to stop erosion in the upazila. The river devoured Chatalbari Government Primary School in Borakotha Union last month. Shah Alam, a teacher of the school, said they are now taking classes at an abandoned union health centre. Harunur Rashid, Executive Engineer of WDB Barisal office, said they have already sought Tk 2,98 crore from the ministry to take immediate steps to stop the onslaught by the river.
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