Two members of a family drowned in the Karatoa river of Bogura’s Sherpur upazila, police say.

The Karatoa is facing a fatal threat. The famous river is shrinking, at some points by a fifth of its total width, due to widespread grabbing along its banks in Bogura's Sadar upazila, according to a government survey and locals.

It was a surprise for locals. While Kanchdah villagers in Rangpur's Pirganj were lifting sand from the Karatoa river on Friday afternoon,