River erosion intensifies in Gopalganj

GOPALGANJ, Aug 29: River erosion has intensified in Gopalganj, putting 46 points across the district at serious risk and forcing many people living along the riverbanks to spend sleepless nights fearing further erosion.

Around 5.5 kilometres of riverbanks have already been affected by erosion to varying degrees, according to local residents and officials. The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has started dumping geo-bags at vulnerable points on an emergency basis to tackle the situation.

The Madhumati, Kumar, Ghaghar, Baghia and Shailadaha rivers and other waterways in the district have swelled due to monsoon rains, triggering erosion along several stretches.

Residents fear that the situation could worsen at any time, causing large-scale damage to homes and farmland.
Residents of Jalalabad Union said around three kilometres of the Madhumati Riverbank in the area was being severely eroded. Many families have already lost their homes and land and have been forced to settle on newly emerged chars on the other bank of the river in Narail District.

Zakaria Ferdous, Sub-Divisional Engineer of the Gopalganj BWDB, said the district had several erosion-prone areas in previous years, but around another 1,000 metres of riverbank have been affected this year, causing losses to local residents.

He said MP Dr KM Babar of Gopalganj-2 visited the erosion-hit areas and instructed officials to take emergency protective measures.

“After inspecting the areas, we obtained approval from the higher authorities and started protective work by dumping geo-bags along 1,200 metres of riverbank,” he said.

He added that another 1,500 metres of riverbank was currently affected by erosion and that efforts were underway to implement permanent protection measures there.

BWDB Executive Engineer Anis Haider Khan said erosion-control work had begun in two packages at a cost of Tk 60 lakh from the emergency disaster allocation for the current fiscal year.

Geo-bag dumping is currently underway in Jalalabad and Dubsi Mollapara areas, he said.
Locals said geo-bag dumping might temporarily slow erosion but would not provide a long-term solution. They demanded durable riverbank protection using concrete blocks.