Erosion by Jamuna turns serious

The Jamuna devoured a number dwelling houses and vast tracts of croplands in Arjuna area of Bhuapur upazila under the district in the last three weeks.              

This year erosion by the mighty river started before the rainy season, threatening hundreds of families, a traditional market, an important road cum flood control embankment and vast tracks of croplands, much to the panic among the local people.

"The erosion started just after the increase of water level of the river, devouring   dwelling houses of around 40 families as well as croplands in Arjuna," said Ayub Ali Mollah, chairman of Arjuna Union Parishad.

"If the erosion continues, the century-old traditional Kuthi Boira market will go into the riverbed and Bhuapur-Tarakandi road cum flood control embankment can collapse. At least three more upazilas -- Gopalpur, Ghatail, Madhupur -- will be flooded if the embankment is broken," he said. 

Although the Water Development Board (WDB) is conducting emergency works to check the erosion by dumping sandbags, it cannot prevent the erosion after increase in the water level of the river, he added.

“The area has been facing erosion for the last few years, and this year it has started before the rainy season. The local public representatives, however, seem to have no headache over the matter while the government officials performed their duty just by visiting the area,” Babar Ali of Arjuna said.

The WDB repairs the flood control embankment in Arjuna every year but benefit of the work remains questionable, he added.

Erosion victims Nuru Miah, Abdul Baset, Anwar Hossain and Anguri Begum said they have become shelterless after losing dwelling houses to the river.

Such disaster would not happen if there was a flood control embankment from Arjuna to Govindasi, they said. 

"Now where will we go? Will the government do anything for us?" said Nuru Miah, one of the victims.

Rights activist Ovijit Ghosh, a resident of Govindasi village in Bhuapur, said although the local riverside people have been demanding for long to bring back the navigability of the river and construction of an embankment from Pingna of Jamalpur to Jokarchar in Tangail to prevent the erosion permanently, nothing has been done in this regard so far.

Contacted, Shajahan Siraj, executive engineer of WDB in Tangail, said now they are dumping geo bags on an emergency basis to prevent erosion in Arjuna.

"We are also preparing a project to construct an embankment in the area," he added.