The government has so far distributed nearly Taka 1.79 crore in cash and 5,952 bundles of corrugated Iron (CI) sheet among 5,081 families affected by the Padma river erosion in Shariatpur this year.
Earlier, the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry allocated Taka 1,81,50,000 for the district as house building grants along with 6,050 bundles of CI sheet. Under the scheme, each river erosion affected family gets cash Taka 3000 along with a bundle of CI sheet.
Besides, the government distributed 675 tonnes of rice and Taka 52 lakh in cash as gratuitous relief (GR) among the river erosion affected families during this year as Noria, Zajira and Bhedorganj were the worst river erosion affected upazilas in Shariatpur district, said officials.
“The government will distribute rice under Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) among Naria’s 5,081 families, who were worst affected by the river erosion, till December 31,” said Disaster Management and Relief (DM&R) Minister Mofazzal Hossen Chowdhury Maya while visiting the upazila on September 18.
Under the initiative, each family will get 30 kg rice during this time as the distribution of the VGF rice began in September and it will continue till December 31, he said at a meeting of the Naria Upazila Disaster Management Committee.
In Naria, the government has distributed 5,000 bundles of CI sheet and Taka 1.50 crore as house building assistance among 5,000 erosion victim families, said Shawpan Matubbar, Project Implementation Officer (PIO) of the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry of Jazira upazila.
Apart from this, the government has distributed 609.72 tonnes of VGF rice among the erosion affected families-where each family will get 30 kg rice in a month till December along with 14,000 packets of dry food, said the official.
Meanwhile, the government has allocated a total of 18,000 packets of dry food for the river erosion affected poor families-each packet containing five kg rice, one kg pulses, one kg sugar, one kg flattened rice, 500grms puffed rice, 1-kg edible oil and a packet of match box.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a proposal to award a contract to Bangladesh Navy-run Khulna Shipyard to protect the Zajira and Naria upazilas from river erosion at a cost of Tk 1,077.58 crore.
The committee at a meeting, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair, gave the go-ahead to the proposal placed by Water Resources Ministry, official sources said.
Under the proposal, the Khulna Shipyard will implement the project of the Water Development Board to protect 8.90km riverbank of the Padma at Zajira and Naria.
The contract work includes dredging and construction ferry terminals.
The approval of the cabinet body came at a time when thousands have been rendered homeless in scourge of the Padma erosion in Shariatpur’s two upazilas over the past three months.
A vast area with about 200 buildings, including hospital, clinics, mosques, temple and business enterprises in Naria has been eroded as the mighty Padma continues to devour its right bank in Shariatpur district, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
River erosion in Naria and Zajira upazilas of the district has been occuring in the rainy season for the last several years. But this time, erosion by the Padma has taken a severe turn.
The locals said over 20 square kilometres of land in Naria have been eroded in the last three years. This year the erosion began some two and a half months ago, but the severe erosion began on September 3 and it is still continuing, they added.
