Elongjani devouring Kalihati village for earth lifting
The Elongjani river has started to devour Char Bhukta village in Kalihati upazila following earth lifting by some influential people.
Erosion threatens the village as the influential quarters are excavating earth from the Elongjani, a tributary of the Jamuna river.
Many houses, a big portion of the century-old eidgah field and a graveyard have already gone into the river due to erosion, locals said.
On a recent visit to the village, this correspondent saw that earth cutting was going on in the river and the earth was being loaded on trucks.
Several villagers said sand was lifted from the river by dredgers during the dry season last year. Erosion started at the village during the rainy season last year when two houses went into the river and four houses were partially washed away, they said.
Some sandbags were dumped by the Water Development Board (WDB) to check the erosion, but that did not work, said Shahida Begum, who lost 72 decimals, out of 95 decimals of her homestead.
“The people of 22 villages constructed the eidgah donating their lands at Char Bhukta village over one hundred years ago to say their Eid prayers there,” said eidgah committee Joint Secretary Solu Mondol.
“One-third of the 200-decimal eidgah along with its boundary wall went into the river last year due to sand lifting,” he added.
Solu said the villagers resisted setting dredgers this year, but the influential people brought an excavator and are lifting earth from the riverbed. They take over 100 truckloads of earth every day, he added.
As the mindless earth cutting is going on, villagers fear that more dwelling houses and the remaining portions of the eidgah and the graveyard will also go into the river in the coming rainy season, said Shahin Miah.
“The earth traders are outsiders having political clout. We have informed the local administration as well as people's representatives about the matter, but to no effect,” he added.
Kalihati Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abu Nasar Uddin, however, said he was not informed of the illegal earth cutting from the river.
“The upazila administration did not give permission to anyone to lift earth from the river. Necessary steps will be taken after investigation,” he added.
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