Four temples and a street are now vulnerable to erosion. Many are dismantling their houses and moving away from the river bank.
The local administration has disconnected gas and power connections to the affected area.
Parts of the embankment gave in to strong current and rising water around 9pm at Puranbazar Harishabha. Five houses near the area were also devoured by the river.
The Water Development Board dumped 500 sandbags on Saturday night to stop further erosion. Additional District Magistrate Mohammad Abdullah Al Mahmud Zaman said the victims of erosion had been removed from the site.
The area was last hit by erosion nearly two years ago. The Water Development Board has been using concrete cement blocks to protect the town.
Locals requested the government to take swift, effective and permanent protective measures.
WDB’s Executive Engineer Abu Raihan told UNB that the latest erosion was due to strong current. “We’re using sandbags at vulnerable sites,” he said. “We have many more bags in stock.”
The same spot had been damaged repeatedly in the last several years. “This 200-metre stretch has been vulnerable to damage. We’re initially trying to prevent erosion by dumping sandbags. We’ll later put up a permanent embankment,” he said.