Brahmaputra erosion leaves 50 families homeless in Kurigram
Along the shifting banks of the Brahmaputra, uncertainty has once again gripped riverine communities in northern Bangladesh, as relentless erosion over the past week has rendered at least 50 families homeless and pushed many more to the brink of displacement.
The worst-affected areas are Sukherbati and Ghughumari villages in Char Shaulmari union, where nearly 400 metres of homesteads and large swathes of cropland have already been swallowed by the river, said locals.
A visit to the area shows residents scrambling to move their homes and belongings to safer ground.
Many families have already taken shelter with relatives or in nearby areas while others remain in vulnerable condition as cracks widen dangerously close to their houses.
“We have lost everything to the river,” said Sirajul Islam, 45. “I don’t know where to go or how to rebuild my life.”
Kashem Ali, 55, said, “One by one, our land and houses are disappearing into the river. We are becoming destitute,” he said. Experts attribute the intensifying erosion to both seasonal and structural factors.
Professor Shafiqul Islam, president of the Kurigram district Char Development and Implementation Organisation, said erosion tends to increase during the dry season when water levels in the Brahmaputra fall.
“The narrowing of the river channel and the weak soil structure along the banks are accelerating the erosion,” he said.
He urged the authorities concerned to take effective steps to rehabilitate affected families.
Local representatives warned that the situation could worsen without urgent intervention.
Iman Ali, former chairman of Roumari upazila parishad, said the matter has been communicated to State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad, seeking immediate action.
Rakibul Hasan, executive engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board in Kurigram, said a river management project has been submitted to the Planning Ministry to control erosion along a 16.5-kilometre stretch – from Saheber Alga in Ulipur to Kodalkati in Char Rajibpur.
The proposed project, estimated to cost around Tk 8.5 crore, aims to establish permanent river control measures. “If approved, it will help mitigate erosion effectively,” he said.
For now, however, affected families remain in distress, fearing that without swift and effective measures, the erosion could intensify further and trigger a larger humanitarian crisis in the area – a recurring hardship for communities living along the fragile banks of the Brahmaputra.
