Editorial Desk :
At least 500 families in Kurigram have turned paupers as they lost their homes and farm land to river bank erosion during this monsoon alone. More than 50 families have lost their homes and livelihoods. The Teesta as well as the Gangadhar Rivers have turned turbulent in the district. Over the past few weeks, the raging rivers have swallowed large swathes of land in Nageshwari, rendering several families homeless. Jalepara, Ramdatta and Raghurvita villages are the worst affected. Every year, the rivers are swollen by an onrush of water from upstream and the erosion mainly takes place after the monsoon floodwater subsides and the brittle soil on the banks collapses.
Despite the erosion grasping into the village roads and farmlands, residents claim, no effective measures have been taken by the authorities yet. Many homeless people have taken shelter at Raghurvita Government Primary School. The Water Development Board hasn’t taken any visible step this monsoon to prevent the river bank erosion problem that has been prevailing for years now. WDB officials said that a project for protecting the riverbank from erosion has been sent to the higher authorities for approval. Over 100 families in Ulipur Upazila of the district lost their homes to erosion by the Teesta River in just one week. Villages like Arjun in Daldalia Union and Gorai Pier, Dalal Para, Hokdanga and Doctor Para in Thetrai Union of the upazila have been hit hardest by the turbulent river. Five educational institutions, two community clinics, roads, and one hundred acres of arable land stand threatened due to the gushing water of the river.
The WDB should take the responsibility for protecting the property of people from river bank erosion in the district. A sustainable project that can protect people from river bank erosion should be in the cart. Local MPs, the district administration, and WDB should work coordinately to prevent the disaster.
