Jamuna devours 200 homesteads, 4 schools

Erosion by the Jamuna has taken a serious turn in Sirajganj Sadar and Chowhali upazilas during the last few days. The photo was taken from Bahuka point in Sirajganj Sadar. PHOTO: STAR

Erosion by the River Jamuna has taken an alarming turn in the last few days, devouring at least 200 homesteads, four schools and a vast tract of cropland in Sadar and Chowhali upazilas of Sirajganj district.
A high school and three primary schools of Chowhali upazila have gone into the river, said locals.
These are Mituani BS Girls' High School, Mituani Government Primary School, Shailodana Government Primary school and Beel Mashuka Government Primary School, said Chowhali Upazila Primary Education Officer Md Abdul Khaleque.
Apart from this, seven or eight schools are now under threat of erosion, said the education officer.
Over 100 houses in Chowhali upazila and a vast tract of farmland have gone into the river. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Abdullah said he urged the Water Development Board to take immediate steps to to protect the area from further erosion.
The river also devoured the boundary wall of the government food godown, the UNO added.
The worst affected villages in Sadar upazila are Bahuka, Balighugri, Paththakuri, Chandnagar and Shuvogasa.
Local Water Development Board (WDB) authorities have been urged to take immediate steps to save the upazilas from the onslaught of the river.
Expressing deep concern, Md Yeakub Ali, a resident of Baligugri village, said the river is now just 10 metres away from the flood protection dam.
The mighty Jamuna eroded more than 500 acres of farmland in the upazila in the last couple of days, he said.
Contacted, WDB officials said they sought fund from the higher authorities to protect the villages of the two upazilas from erosion.