In just two hours choppy Padma River devoured Daulatdia ferry terminal number four, a mosque, land and houses on Monday as severe erosion played havoc in Mondayat Siddique Kazipara area in Goalundo upazila. About 20 more families evacuated their houses as relentless river erosion devastated the area.   Local villagers scurried to save their belongings as the structures and the land disappeared into the river before being washed away by the tide between 8 am and 10 am. Imam of the Siddique Kazipara Jame Mosque, Hafez Jobayer Hossain said a portion of the residential slipped into water first and then tube well, houses, his own home and half of the concrete building was gulped by the river. Siddique Kazi, after whose ancestors the area was named, said for last few days whirlpools and strong currents started scrapping away lands but it intensified most today. READ: 10 Padma bridge guards held over alleged murder “Giobags were not dumped in places where it should been even after our request,” he said. Upazila Parishad member Ashraful Islam said in ward-2 area from Daulatdia launch terminal to ferry terminal-5 around 200 families and in Mashjidsheikh Para area from launch terminal to ferry terminal-1 some 600 to 800 families are threatened by rapid erosion. Deputy assistant engineer of Bangladesh inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Aricha office Makbul Hossain said regular work to prevent erosion was going on at the launch terminal area but no work was done at terminal four as it was not affected by erosion. Immediately after being informed of the erosion direction was given to dump giobags to prevent the erosion, he said.   Assistant director general (marine) of  BIWTC Aricha office, Abdus Sattar said, due to erosion and strong current no ferries could anchor at terminal-4 for last two weeks and terminal-3 is also at risk. Currently terminal 5,6 and 7 is being used, said the official. Locals said, on August 11 and 12  around 100 meter of the launch terminal went into the river due to erosion. READ: Authority places lighted buoy to protect Padma Bridge from ferries From July 13 to August 9 at least three times the locals faced erosion and many families had to evacuate from their house, they said. UP chairman, Abdur Rahman demanded of the government steps to prevent the erosion as every year 200 families on an average lose their land to river erosion within this 8km area.

Originally a resident of the Isaeel Shibrampur area in Goalundo upazila's Daulatdia union, Jalil Sikder now lives with his family in a hutment on a Good Samaritan's land in Nasir Sardar Para. "We were rendered homeless after our house was washed away by the mighty Padma river in front of our eyes last year. Thanks to a benevolent person in Isaeel Shibrampur, we have a roof over our heads,"  he says. Riverbank erosion is a common problem along the Padma during the rainy season. And Jalil is also not the lone sufferer. Over the years, several families in the riverine areas of the upazila's Daulatdia and Debgram unions have been rendered homeless by such engulfing calamity. READ: Padma boat capsize: Bodies of missing AIUB student, cousin found after 8 days Some 2,000 families still living in the riverine areas of the two unions are now spending sleepless nights. Their fears are tangible, with monsoon rains barely a week away. "Every day, the river is washing away some three to four bighas of land. The erosion aggravates during the monsoon when the Padma overflows its banks. It's high time that the authorities took safety measures without any delay," says Hazrat Sheikh, a resident of Devgram's Munshibazar area. "In the past three years, some 300 families have been forced to abandon their houses in Devgram. What we get from the local authorities after every monsoon is only assurances of better preparedness for next year," says Ruby Khatun, a resident of Aziz Sardar Para. Read Riverbank erosion destroys homes and hopes Upazila Chairman Mostafa Munshi admits the problem the riverine areas face during the monsoon. "I have sought Rajbari-1 MP Kazi Keramat Ali's help in this regard," he says. According to the Rajbari-1 MP, all preparations are underway for starting the construction of an embankment from Ferry Ghat to Debgram Antarmor to prevent erosion.  "The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council will soon begin work on Daulatdia and Paturia Ghat modernisation projects worth around Tk 650 crore," he says. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Azizul Haque Khan recently visited the affected areas. "For the time being, the Water Development Board is placing sand bags along the ferry ghat," he says. READ: Padma devours SESDP Model High School in Madaripur