Coastal people in Sirajganj are in constant fear of losing their belongings into the river as swelling Jamuna River rapidly erodes houses, schools and farmlands in the district.
After two days of low water levels, the Jamuna River in Sirajganj has begun to rise. Over the past 24 hours, water levels have increased by 9cm at the Raksha Dam hard point area and by 8cm at the Kazipur Meghaighat point in the city.
Severe erosion has already commenced in Enayetpur, causing the loss of 10 settlements in the area within the past two days.
Victims of the erosion are alleging negligence on the part of the contractor. Vast areas of Shahjadpur, Enayetpur, and Chauhali upazilas in the district are disappearing daily due to the monsoon winds and intensified erosion caused by rising water levels. In an effort to salvage their homes, affected residents are relocating houses facing erosion to safer grounds, with many spending their days under the open sky without proper meals.
The construction of a dam to protect the right bank of the six-kilometre stretch from Enayetpur to Shahjadpur is currently underway. However, despite the ongoing project by the Bangladesh Water Development Board to combat erosion, affected individuals claim that the measures have been ineffective.
Approximately a year and a half ago, the Water Development Board approved a project worth Tk647 crore to address erosion issues in a six-and-a-half-kilometre area along the Jamuna River, spanning from Enayetpur wall in Sirajganj to Brahmangram.
However, locals have expressed dissatisfaction with the slow progress of the project, blaming negligence on the part of Water Development Board officials and contractors.
Over the past year and a half, hundreds of thousands of families have lost their homes and cultivated lands due to erosion. In the last 15 days alone, more than a hundred residential houses in areas such as Jamalpur, Brahmangram, and Arkandi have succumbed to erosion, with ongoing erosion observed on both banks of the Jamuna in Chauhali and Belkuchi.
Md Mahbubur Rahman, executive engineer of the Sirajganj Water Development Board, acknowledged that the project work is ongoing, but it will take time to complete. Lumping work is being carried out in landslide-affected areas such as Enayetpur, Jalalpur, Hatpanchil, and Chauhali. Implementing the project during the rainy season poses challenges, but efforts such as geo bag dumping continue to prevent erosion.