At least 50 families residing in Char Poulee village under Tangail Sadar upazila are passing sleepless nights as the Jamuna river's erosion worsened this monsoon.

Previously, more than half the village was lost to the river's erosion.

Locals alleged that delay in necessary river bank protection efforts by the authorities gave way to this situation.

"Many houses were lost to the river last Tuesday," said Belal Hossain, member of a local social organisation that helps erosion victims relocate to safety.

Abdul Kader, a villager, said, "Earlier, our ancestral house was lost to the river. On Tuesday, the house we built later was also devoured. How will we survive with no place to live?"

Hunufa Begum, another villager, said her homestead was lost to the river right before her eyes. "We don't want relief. We want a permanent solution," she said.

Local Mohammad Hasan said, "Despite repeated assurances from public representatives, no durable embankment has been constructed yet. Around 1,600 metres of the river bank still lies unprotected. We demand urgent measures to provide protection from erosion."

Sources at Bangladesh Water Development Board said geo-bags have been dumped on the river bank from Nagarpur upazila to Char Poulee in Sadar upazila, while there is an embankment from Patharghat in Kalihati to Alipur.

But in between, at least 1,625 metres of the river bank lies unprotected.

Nazrul Islam, a Kakua union parishad member, said, "At least 35 families lost their houses in a single day, and a 1.5-kilometre stretch of the village was lost to erosion. Construction of an embankment is urgently needed to save the village."

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Of river erosion and the people it displaces

Contacted, Sazzad Hossain, executive engineer of BWDB in Tangail, said emergency works are ongoing to protect erosion-affected areas.

"New projects have been approved for constructing 1,625 metres of embankment in Char Poulee, as well as Bhairabbari and Alipur areas of Kalihati upazila. It will be implemented in the next dry season," he added.