Erosion fear grips 200 families

Around 200 families from four unions under Patuakhali's Rangabali upazila are passing days in fear of losing their lands and homes to erosion of Buragauranga river.

Nestled on the banks of the river, in the vicinity of the Bay of Bengal, the four unions -- Montaj, Boubazar, Hindugram and Kheyaghat -- were developed on shoals and have always suffered from erosion over the years.

An embankment constructed around five decades back to protect the areas from erosion is now on the verge of collapse.

With occasional minor repairs by Water Development Board, the embankment barely manages to serve its purpose.

"I lost all my ancestral property to the river. I relocated here as the authorities said it would be safe. However, as the old embankment is vulnerable, my present location is also at risk," said Suren Mandal, 45, an erosion victim.

"The dyke was constructed to protect people from erosion and arable lands from accumulation of saline water. It is gradually collapsing due to strong river currents," said Mosharraf Matbar, a union parishad member.

Several applications have been submitted to the BWDB. However, only doing repairs to a dilapidated dyke will not lead to a sustainable solution, said Ayub Khan, a local social worker.

Rakib Hossain, executive engineer of BWDB in Kalapara, said, "A 32.5-kilometre stretch of the embankment in Boubazar union has been damaged by the currents. Repair efforts are underway."

"We need to construct a new embankment to provide better protection against erosion," he added.