Erosion by Jamuna renders 200 families homeless in Jamalpur
The river Jamuna continues to devour homesteads at Paschim (west) Bamna village in Chinaduli Union under Islampur upazila of Jamalpur. Erosion by the river has taken a serious turn in the union, leaving al least 200 families of four villages homeless in the last 11 days.Photo: STAR
Erosion by the Jamuna River has taken a serious turn at four villages in Chinaduli union of Islampur upazila, rendering around 200 families homeless in the last 11 days. In addition, more than 300 families face serious threat as their homesteads will be devoured anytime. The erosion victims are passing their days in misery without drinking water and foods under the open sky on roads and highways. The affected villages are Dakkhin Gilabari, Paschim Bamna, Shingbhanga and Kadomtali, said Abdus Salam, chairman of the union. The erosion sped up when the floodwater started receding, said Water Development Board (WDB) sources. It eroded a large number of homesteads and croplands covering 4-km long and 80-meter wide along the riverbank, said Jamalpur WDB executive engineer Nizamul Haque Bhuyian. Most of the villagers left their homesteads in fear of further erosion, he said. The chairman said at least 20 homesteads at village Paschim Bamna were washed away by the river within a couple of hours on Eid day. Several hundred acres of cropland were devoured by the erosion during the period, he added. “We got only 27 metric tonnes of rice under vulnerable group feeding (VGF) programme for a large number of erosion victims”, said the chairman. During a recent visit, freedom fighter Sona Mia of village Paschim Bamna, told this correspondent that it was a bitter experience for them as they had to shift their homesteads during the festival due to the erosion. The affected villagers alleged that their homesteads and croplands were devoured as the authorities did not take any initiative to protect the 5.5 km left bank of the river despite repeated pleas. Contacted, the executive engineer said the government has already allocated Tk 115 crore to protect the riverbank from Guthail hard point to Ulia Bazar of the upazila through dumping GO bags in the upcoming dry season. Upazila nirbahi officer Anwar Hossain Akand said we have sent a letter to the higher authorities, seeking fund to tackle the situation.
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