Erosion by Noboganga Takes Serious turn in Narail
200 families homeless in a week
Erosion by the Noboganga River has taken a serous turn in Lohagara upazila of Narail district, rendering around 200 families homeless in the last two weeks. Photo: STAR
Erosion by the Noboganga River has taken a serious turn in two upazilas rendering around 200 families homeless in the last two weeks. Locals said, during the period, the river devoured vast tracts of cultivable lands, homesteads, temple and other structures in two unions under Lohagara and Kalia upazilas. The erosion started around six years ago. But it took an alarming turn last year leaving a large number of people, mostly marginal farmers and traders homeless. Several hundred families of Mauli union in Kalia upazila and Kotakol union in Lohagara upazila shifted their houses due to severe erosion by Noboganga in the last two weeks, locals said. While visiting the erosion hit areas on Thursday, this correspondent saw Mohajan Bazar people hurriedly removing goods and shifting their shops and houses to safer places. A large number of erosion victims alleged they were yet to get any support either from the government or from non-government sources. Even the Water Development Board, Narail, took no steps to stop the onslaught by the river, the villagers alleged. The affected areas are Mohajon Bazar, Dakkhin Mohajon, Uttar Mohajon, Goshaibaria, Goshpara, Guchchho gram, Palbari, Beparipara of Mauli union and Gaga, Telkara and Botdia of Kotakol union. The erosion-affected people of the two unions said they have been passing days amid anxiety. They said about 200 families have been displaced in the last two weeks while the erosion is threatening 800 more families. Anamika Das,45, and Chandra,30, now landless by erosion, said that the river devoured all their houses, trees and lands. They could not save any household goods as Naboganga devoured all in 'a blink of an eye,' they said. Sreebash Saha,40, said, during the last caretaker government period a move was taken to arrest the erosion but it all stopped after the changeover. Sanjoy Das of Mohajon Bazar said thousands of CC blocks were lying idle there for lack of an official decision to throw them into the river to stop erosion. According to officials at Narail Water Development Board, a total of Tk 22 crore 42 lakh and 61 thousand had been sanctioned for filling sand bags, making and dumping CC blocks by June 2011. “But the work is yet to be finished. That's why no sand bag could be dumped in the project area", said Md Firoz Khan, chairman of Mauli union. Contacted, executive engineer of local Water Development Board (WDB), Zulfikar Ali said, the work of the project would start only if we get money and materials on time. Putting GO bags and CC blocks will now start next financial year because of failure of the relevant contractors to maintain the work schedule, he alleged.
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