Over 500 residents of the Madhumati river banks in Alphadanga upazila of the district have been passing sleepless nights amid fear of losing homesteads as erosion by the river has taken a serious turn.
Many have been compelled to leave their houses which they inherited from their ancestors.
Besides, many schools, markets, streets, mosques, madrashahs, croplands and houses are at risk of being washed away by the river.
Erosion by the Padma and the Arial Kha rivers in the district has also intensified since the beginning of the monsoon, leaving many people on the river banks homeless.
Locals said the Water Development Board is temporarily dropping sand-filled geo bags to stop erosion but that does not solve the problem.
Vising Pachuria, Bana and Gopalpur unions of Alphadanga upazila the correspondent found severe erosion in one and a half kilometres area.
The erosion worsened with the rise of water levels in the rivers last week. The same situation was seen on the banks of the Padma and Arial Kha rivers and in Charvadrashan, Sadarpur and Faridpur Sadar upazila.
Partha Pratim Saha, executive engineer of the Water Development Board, said, geobags are being dropped in the erosion-hit areas.
The project of permanent dam construction has been approved, he said adding, “We hope we will be able to start the construction of the dam in the next dry season.”
Ali Aksad Jhantu, mayor of Alphadanga municipality said, several hundreds of families have become destitute losing their homes and croplands due to the erosion by the river Madhumati. More geo bags should be used to protect the areas for now, he added.
