Meghna River that has featured in films, poems and folklores has now turned into a curse for villagers living along it.   

In the last 10 years the river has swallowed croplands, houses, school buildings leaving thousands homeless. It has eroded its banks by its strong tide. The onslaught goes on unabated both during the dry season and the monsoon.

Around 170 sq km area in Ramgati and Kamalnagar upazilas of Lakshmipur in the last 10 years as erosion by the river continues, according to data derived by reviewing and analysing government documents and interviewing  the residents in these areas.

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Last Monday, Char Balua Government Primary School building in Ramgati upazila collapsed into the riverbed within seconds, a sad portrayal of the helplessness of people in these areas to river erosion.

According to the survivors of the Meghna erosion on the Laxmipur coast, the severity of it has been three times more in the last 10 years compared to any time in the past.

Lakhs of people had lost their land to Meghna and became homeless during this time.

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In addition to the erosion, abnormal tidal water has been inundating localities and inhabited land , adding to the miseries of the residents.

Excess salinity in tidal water has added new problems this year, increasing risks of waterborne diseases.

In such a situation, the locals have demanded the construction of permanent and sustainable embankments  to protect them from the wrath of Meghna.

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The area of Ramgati was 663 sq km according to the 1991 census report and 594 sq km according to a similar report published in 2011, a data  which reveals that approximately 69 sq km area in the region were lost due to erosion.

The rate of river erosion in the region has only increased ever since, according to locals.

Local representatives of the affected areas told UNB that at least 15 wards of 4 unions of Kamalnagar upazila have been destroyed in the last five years due to the intensity of the erosion.

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Most parts of the embankment which protected the people from Meghna were damaged when cyclone Ayla hit the coastal shores back in 2007.

As baffling as it may sound, these damaged parts were not recovered in all these years despite the Meghna  devouring lands after lands during this time.

Abdus Sattar Paloyan, convener of the Kamalnagar-Ramgati Bachao Mancha (Save kamal Nagar -Ramgati platform) and a lawyer for the Supreme Court said,” Although it is difficult to exactly state the exact number, our estimation is that around 170 sq km areas of the region were lost due to Meghna erosion.”

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He demanded of the government to immediately compensate the people in these areas who lost their livelihoods and homes.

He also called on the authorities to immediately start the embankment construction project passed by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on June 1.

“The project might be transferred to the Bangladesh Army for better handling if necessary,” the activist added.

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Kamalnagar-Ramgati constituency MP Major (retd) Abdul Mannan said a project has been taken to build an embankment to prevent river erosion in the two upazilas.

“Hopefully, it will be possible to protect the river bank through it.I am trying  to get the construction work started as soon as possible through the army,” he added.

Faruk Ahmed , executive engineer of Laxmipur Water Development Board said a project worth Tk 3,99,96,99,000 has been approved at a meeting of the ECNEC) or the construction of a 31-kilometer embankment on the Meghna River in the two upazilas.

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“The construction will start immediately after the money for the project is released by the concerned authorities,” he added.