13 families lose everything to Madhumati river erosion
Photo: Agamir Somoy
At least 13 homesteads in Mollahat, Bagerhat, have been washed away by the ongoing erosion of the Madhumati River over the past six months. After losing their homes, some families have taken shelter at relatives’ houses while others have moved onto other people’s land. Some have been forced to live in miserable conditions under the open sky. As the erosion continues, many more riverside homes, roads and croplands are now at risk.
Locals said riverbank soil is collapsing every day. They warned that the extent of the damage could increase in the coming months if effective measures are not taken quickly.
Sufia Begum, who lost everything to the erosion, said, “My entire household is gone. House after house has been washed away. Now I have nothing left. First this land was washed away. Now where will we go? We have nowhere to go. Please make arrangements for us to stay somewhere with our children.”
Local resident Rubel said, “There were eight houses here and all eight have gone into the river. There are still some houses here but we are not sure whether they will remain for even six months. We are appealing to the government to take immediate measures here and stop the erosion.”
Freedom fighter Hasmat Ali Sheikh said, “Many houses including mine are being washed away. If no action is taken quickly many more houses will be destroyed. We want the government to take urgent measures to prevent the erosion.”
Monira Begum, who lost her homestead to the river erosion, said, “I watched my own house disappear into the river before my eyes. I built my household with great difficulty. Now I do not even have a place to stay. I am suffering greatly with my family. If the government does not take action quickly many more families like ours will be left homeless.”
Victim Kamal said, “At first, I thought the erosion would probably not reach our house. But within a few days the river came closer. In the end we did not even get a chance to move the house. Now I have lost everything and become helpless. We want measures to be taken quickly to prevent the erosion by placing geobags.”
Mohammad Liton Molla, a union parishad member of Ward 9 under No. 7 Atjuri Union, said 21 families in his area have been washed away into the river. At the same time, hundreds of bighas of cropland have also been lost to the river. He said, “I have applied many times regarding the matter but so far, I have not seen any hope. If some geobags could be arranged urgently the erosion might be prevented. If action is not taken within the next six months roads, houses and much more cropland will disappear into the river.”
Locals alleged that despite the river erosion continuing for a long time no permanent protection measures have been established in vulnerable areas. Although geobags have been placed temporarily in some areas they are inadequate compared with the need. They demanded that erosion prone areas be identified and geobags be placed urgently along with permanent river management measures.
Several attempts were made to contact Mollahat Upazila Executive Officer Suman Airin for her comment on the matter but she did not answer the phone.
Families who lost their homesteads to the Madhumati River erosion demanded effective measures to prevent further erosion. People living along the riverbank want measures to ensure that no more families like theirs lose their homes and end up on the streets.
