‘I don’t know where I’ll go’

Hundreds of families in Patilapara area in Manikganj's Saturia upazila have been affected by river erosion. Vast crop lands and houses have been washed away by the Dhaleshwari river in the last few days. Hundreds of houses and crop lands, including, Abdur Rahman Khan High School are now at risk of erosion.

Water Development Board (WDB) office sources said 11 rivers -- including Padma, Jamuna, Kaliganga, Dhaleshari, Ichhamati, Kantabati -- flow through Manikganj district, making it prone to erosion during the rise and fall of water level.

On a visit to the Patilapara area, this correspondent saw that more than 100 bighas of crop land and six houses have been washed away by the Dhaleshwari.

Jabeda Khatun was seen cooking in a river side kitchen. Most of her house has been washed away by the river. The kitchen is almost on its way to be drowned.

She said, "We took shelter on a neighbouring land near Abdur Rahman High School as a major portion of our home was washed away in the river a few days ago. Now it seems that the school will be engulfed by the Dhaleshwari as well. I don't know where I will go. No one is coming to our aid."

Samsul Haque, another resident, said, "I planted fruit trees, but they were uprooted due to river erosion. Each five trees go for Tk 3,000. Now I'm cutting down the trees to use as firewood since I'll be moving. What am I supposed to do?"

Mofizul Islam Khan Kamal, former Manikganj-Saturia constituency AL lawmaker and president of Abdur Rahman Khan High School's managing committee, said, "Every year, the river erosion situation gets worse. This time, people of the surrounding areas, including Patilapara, became homeless due to river erosion. We need to build a permanent dam."

Manikganj WDB Executive Engineer Md Main Uddin said, "We've used 7,500 geo-bags in the area to prevent erosion. When the water recedes, the rest will be placed there so that there is no further erosion."

"WDB has approved and allocated funds for constructing permanent dams in 10.5 km area at 12 points of Kaliganga river. Permanent dams will also be constructed in phases in risky areas surrounding the Dhaleshwari."