flood situation in Bangladesh
Dreams crumble to dust as erosion sweeps away homes
Not only the Teesta, but the Gangadhar river has also turned turbulent in Kurigram.
Over the past few weeks, the raging river has swallowed large swathes of land in Nageshwari, rendering several families homeless. Jalepara, Ramdatta and Raghurvita villages are the worst affected.
This monsoon season alone, 50 families have lost their homes and livelihoods due to land erosion by the Gangadhar river.
Read Fight the Flood: Safety measures to take before, during, after floods in Bangladesh
Every year, the river is swollen by seasonal rains and the erosion mainly takes place after the water from the monsoon subsides and the brittle soil on the banks collapses.
Despite the erosion eating into the village roads and farm lands, local residents claim, no effective measures have been taken by the authorities yet, and they now live under the fear of losing their lives too.
Many homeless people have now taken shelter at Raghurvita Government Primary School. Chandra and Bhanuram Biswas of Jalepara are among the unfortunate ones.
Read: Teesta turns turbulent in Kurigram; leaves 100 families homeless
"Every time, the river swallows our homes, we are forced to start from the beginning. This time, we have lost everything -- house, belongings and some money we had saved for the rainy day," the duo said.
Kaledanga Jame Mosque, Ramdatta Jame Mosque, Ramdatta Mahila Hafeza Madrasa, Krishnapur Nurani Hafezia Madrasa, and the only paved road in Krishnapur now stand threatened by the Gangadhar.
Akmal Hossain, a public representative, told UNB that the Water Development Board didn't take any visible steps this monsoon to prevent the problem that has been prevailing for years now.
Read: Floods, landslides hit Rohingya camps hard: UNHCR
Officials of the Water Development Board, however, said that a project for protecting the riverbank from erosion has already been sent to the higher authorities for approval.
"The proposal was sent to the headquarters two years ago, but we are still waiting for an approval. We need a permanent solution to the problem. Temporary steps won’t be effective unless an embankment is constructed,” said sub-divisional engineer Omar Faruk Md Mokhtar Hossain.
Flash flood inundates low-lying areas in 2 Sylhet upazilas
Low-lying areas of Gowainghat and Companiganj upazilas in Sylhet district have been flooded due to onrush of hill water and heavy rains for the last couple of days, causing immense sufferings to local people.
Roads, houses, seedbeds and schools went under water due to the flash flood.
In Gowainghat upazila, Sari-Gowainghat and Gowainghat-Radhanagar road were submerged, disrupting vehicular movement.
Besides, several hectares of Aman seedbeds went under flood water due to rise of water levels in the Sari and the Pian rivers and heavy showers.
The fish enclosures were also washed away by the sudeen flood.
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