United News of Bangladesh

Erosion by the Dakatia River has intensified in Bagadi Union under Chandpur Sadar upazila, putting hundreds of families and vast stretches of cultivable land at grave risk. Locals said the erosion has been going on for nearly two decades, but its severity has increased in recent weeks, threatening over 500 houses across 200 families, alongside many farmlands. A visit to the affected areas revealed that the erosion has already devoured one kilometre of riverbank, washing away homes and croplands in Nanupara, Nijgachtala and nearby villages. Residents said the situation worsens during the dry season when the river’s current becomes stronger. In a bid to draw attention to the crisis, villagers formed a human chain along the riverbank in Nanupara last Thursday, demanding immediate action to halt the erosion. Shahjahan Patwari and Shahadat Talukder, two local farmers, said they once had extensive farmlands where they grew crops every season. “Now, most of it has disappeared into the river. If this continues, there will be nothing left to cultivate next year,” said Shahjahan. Majeda Khatun, Hanufa Begum, and Rowshan Ara Begum, who also joined the human chain, shared how they had lost their ancestral homes to the river over the past two decades. They said they had repeatedly approached local representatives for help, but no concrete action was ever taken. Chandpur’s Haimchar riverbanks protection dam faces erosion threat

Five workers drowned as a  soil-laden trawler sank in the Dakatia River off the coast of Chandpur after hitting a bulkhead early Monday. The deceased were identified as Md Mubarak, 45, Md Awal, 50, Md Nasir, 32, Al-Amin, 35, and Nazrul, 35. They used to work in brick kilns at Maishadi and Shahtali villages of Chandpur. Shahedul Islam, deputy assistant director of Chandpur Fire Service, said the trawler carrying 11 people capsized in the river at Mominpur in sadar upazila after it crashed into bulkhead MV Iqbal Hossain-1 amid dense fog around 6:45 am . Read:Sinha murder case verdict being read out  Six people managed to swim ashore while five others drowned. On information, divers from the local fire station rushed to the spot and recovered four bodies  while local people recovered another body, said the official.

Police have recovered the body of an unknown man from the Dakatia River in Shahrasti upazila.