It is encouraging to note that in order to safeguard the protection of the areas close to Meghna River Bank from erosion, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved Taka 3,089.97 crore project.
In our country, river bank erosion plays a key role in socio-environmental changes. For a long time, the exiled people of river bank erosion experience considerable socio-economic changes. They lose their livelihoods, their childrens stop going to schools and they also face other marginalizations. As a consequence they face involuntary displacement from their original residence.
Authorities concerned should
make sure that there is no
delay in project clearance
It is apprehended that once the project is implemented, it would be possible to protect the farm lands, markets, hut-bazars, schools, colleges, madrashas, roads and various public and private establishments and infrastructures from river erosion under Ramgati and Kamalnagar upazilas and thus protect crops of some 30,000 hectares of land from tidal surge.
Hence, authorities concerned should make sure that there is no delay in project clearance. Initiatives like planting more trees on the river banks can also be taken. This is because roots of the plants hold soil firmly in a particular spot and provide greater resistance to the soil from being washed away.
Sustainable embankments should be built so that it protects the fragile soil from erosion for a longer term. The authorities concerned should also be careful over regulating river water so that small canals do not dry up. Such measures should be implemented as soon as possible. Thus it has become the need of the hour to formulate policies which address prevention of river bank erosion.
