Panna Kushtia District Correspondent: The erosion of the Padma River in Daulatpur, Kushtia has worsened significantly. Homes and agricultural land are being devoured by the river. Large areas of the Moricha and Chilmarī unions have already disappeared into the river’s grasp. Several small and large structures, including a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) outpost, have been lost to erosion.
Critical infrastructures are now at risk, including the Raita-Mahishkundi river protection embankment and the electricity transmission line that carries power from India. In response, locals have formed a human chain demanding immediate action and the construction of a permanent embankment to halt the erosion.
As far as the eye can see, the riverbank bears the scars of destruction. In the Moricha and Chilmarī unions along the Padma River in Daulatpur, hundreds of bighas of farmland and residential areas have been engulfed by the river. People in parts of Philipnagar and Ramkrishnapur unions, as well as in neighboring areas of Bheramara upazila, are living in constant fear of further erosion.
Victims say that unless the erosion is brought under control, hundreds of more bighas of fertile land will vanish. Schools, madrasas, mosques, and both government and private buildings along the riverbanks are also under serious threat.
Officials from the Water Development Board have stated that the erosion has intensified as the river’s water level has started to recede. They are currently trying to control the damage by deploying geo-bags.
Every year, without a permanent embankment along the Padma in Daulatpur and Bheramara, homes and farmland continue to be lost to erosion.
