The Padma and Arial Khan rivers have begun to fall in Sadarpur, Faridpur, but the erosion has not stopped, Ittefaq reports. Even in autumn, homesteads and cropland are disappearing into the rivers. Half-ripe and green paddy is being lost too, and farmers with no other choice are cutting it before harvest to use as cattle feed.
Severe erosion is under way along the Padma at Shoitankhali Ghat, Chairman Ghat and Munshirchar in Dheukhali union, and along the Arial Khan in neighbouring Charnasirpur union, at Baburali Mollar Kandi, Shimultoli, Nazir Shikdar Kandi and other villages. Charnasirpur farmer Md Joynal said a few more days would have let him harvest; instead he is cutting his half-ripe paddy to feed his cattle.
Dheukhali union chairman Md Mizanur Rahman Boyati said he watched an area about 500 feet long and 30 feet wide vanish into the river in just 20 minutes, erosion such as he had never seen. A shelter in Charnasirpur, the century-old Piyajkhali market, several secondary and primary schools, mosques and bazaars are at risk.
Residents believe that work on about 17 kilometres of river training, from Bagra Ghat through Diara and Charnasirpur-Jhaukanda, has stalled, shifting the current towards Sadarpur. They say the authorities need to make a technical assessment.
Sadarpur UNO Sharif Shaon said the government is aware; a Padma river-training project has been placed before ECNEC and is under review, with Bangladeshi and foreign experts working on it. People along the banks fear that without a permanent embankment and river training soon, many families will lose their land and homes. The report is by Ittefaq's Sadarpur correspondent.
Photo: Asker Ibne Firoz / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); river erosion, for illustration
Source: Ittefaq
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