People of two villages have dug about one kilometre canal that will stop erosion and flooding by the Ghagot river in Sadullapur Upazila and also allow pisciculture.

Strong current of the U-shaped portion of the river flowing through Mastarpara and Fakirpara villages earlier caused massive erosion and flooding during every monsoon. The river will now lose its fury as it will flow straight after the loot-cutting.

The abandoned two-milometre U-shaped portion will be used for pisciculture, fisher officials said.

Continued erosion threatened the Sunderganj-Saduallapur road, besides rendering several thousand people homeless and damaging crops on vast lands every year.

Local people several times appealed to the Water Development Board for digging a one-kilometre canal to get rid of destruction by the U-shaped river, but to no effect.

They then decided to do it themselves.

Hundreds of people of all classes with spades in hand voluntarily joined the month-long earth cutting work and completed it last week.

"People can do every thing if they can be mobilised", said Anwarul Kadir, former president of Gaibandha Chamber of Commerce, who pioneered the programme.

Sadullapur UNO Paritosh Chandra Das extended all out support to it.

Inaugurating the new canal, Gaibandha Deputy Commissioner Tapon Chandra Majumder allocated a grant of Tk 20,000 for construction of an embankment for its better protection.

He emphasised pisciculture in the abandoned U-shaped portion of the river.

Local fishery officials said over Tk five lakh fishes will be produced in the abandoned river.