Unabated erosions at 14 points of three polders of the Water Development Board in Dacope upazila, a coastal area adjacent to the Bay of Bengal, has created a panic among one lakh people of 50 villages of the upazila.
Visiting the area and talking to locals, the UNB correspondent found that the officers of the Water Development Board are reluctant to fix the small cracks, resulting in larger cracks and allowing water to flow in whenever there is a high tide.
They alleged that no steps have been taken yet for protecting their arable lands, business establishments and dwelling houses.
Before the advent of monsoon, the water level rises abnormally in about 10 rivers like the Shipsha, Dhaki, Bhadra, Pashur, Jhapjhapia, Manga, Madurchhara, Nalian and Chunkuri.
Some of the residents of the villages are working on their own to repair the embankments whereas many others shifting their businesses and residences elsewhere.
Upazila chairman Abul Hossain said the WDB authorities have been informed about the risky embankments.
Krishnapada Das, Deputy Assistant Engineer of Water Development Board, said the World Bank has started working on dam construction in polder No 32 and 33 for which the WDB cannot work on it.
But, financial help is sought from the authorities concerned to repair the vulnerable embankments of polder No 33 and the work will begin as soon as they get the help, he added.
Dharala River erosion: Villagers join hands to protect themselves
UNB from Kurigram adds: Many of them have already lost their houses and farmlands, but no one came forward to save them from the onslaught by the Dharla River. Having failed to manage government support, the helpless people of three villages finally joined their hands to help each other to protect themselves from the bank erosion.
Around 1,500 families of the villages took part in the voluntary work at Nankar in Bhogdanga union of Sadar upazila.
They collected 2,000 bamboos from 25 villages of the upazila. With their relentless efforts, 300 metres of piling works have already been completed.
Habibur Rahman, a farmer of Nankar village, said his 50 bighas of farm land and dwelling house went into the gorge of the river during the last 2-3 years.
The dwelling houses, farmlands, trees of 10 villages, including Nankar, Satbhita, Kaim Boraibari, Nandalaler Bhita, Jagmohoner Char, Pangarchar and Sardarpara village, have already been washed away by Dharala, rendering many villagers homeless.
The residents of Nankar and Nandalaler Bhita alleged that the government only provides relief to erosion-affected and homeless people but does not take any step to prevent the erosion.
The villagers sought an effective initiative to protect them from erosion.
Abdul Malek, assistant teacher of Nandalaler Bhita Government Primary School, said the two-storey school might go under water in the next monsoon if the government does not take any initiative to protect it.
Majibur Rahman, who basically has taken the initiative of piling works with the participation of villagers, said they had informed the authorities concerned for taking steps to check the riverbank erosion.
As there has been no initiative by the local Water Development Board (WDB) to stop the erosion, the people of the villages themselves built bamboo piling spars and dumped sand bags voluntarily along the erosion point in an attempt to protect their homesteads and croplands, he added.
Shafiqul Islam, executive engineer of Kurigram WDB, said that they have taken a project for the erosion-affected area, and the work will start when they will get government allocation.
