Paikgachha faces growing threat from river erosion
The relentless erosion caused by the Kapotakkho River continues to wreak havoc across the coastal upazila of Paikgachha in Khulna, leaving thousands of families homeless and pushing entire communities to the brink of disappearance.
With each passing day, the river’s destructive force has intensified, swallowing vast stretches of agricultural land, ancestral homesteads, and critical infrastructure.
Villages that once thrived are gradually disappearing into the river, dramatically altering the area’s geographical landscape.
According to local residents, at least 10 villages have been severely affected by riverbank erosion, forcing thousands of families to abandon their homes and livelihoods.
Many now live in makeshift shelters on dilapidated embankments maintained by the Water Development Board (WDB) or on borrowed land, struggling to survive under extremely harsh conditions.
The humanitarian situation has become increasingly dire. Displaced families face acute shortages of safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, and basic healthcare services.
Exposure to extreme weather conditions, including scorching heat and heavy rainfall, has further worsened their suffering.
Residents have expressed deep frustration over what they describe as inadequate and temporary erosion-control measures.
They allege that authorities routinely respond to erosion threats by placing a limited number of geo-bags along vulnerable riverbanks measures that are quickly washed away by the river’s powerful currents and tidal surges.
“The annual cycle of temporary repairs has brought no lasting solution,” residents said, warning that more villages could vanish if comprehensive river-management initiatives are not undertaken immediately.
Prominent journalist and human rights activist Advocate F.M.A. Razzaq urged the government to intervene urgently to prevent further devastation.
“While no one can control the natural forces behind river erosion, effective river management is entirely within human capacity,” he said.
“The people of this coastal region deserve immediate protection, rehabilitation, and long-term solutions.”
He emphasised that displaced families must be rehabilitated without delay and called for legal protection for residents facing disputes and harassment over government-allotted land in Shahajadpur Mouza.
He also demanded the construction of permanent embankments reinforced with modern concrete blocks along the vulnerable stretches of the Kapotakkho River.
Local communities have echoed these demands, warning that without decisive action, a significant portion of Paikgachha Upazila could disappear from the map within the next few years.
As erosion continues unabated, uncertainty looms large over thousands of riverbank residents whose lives, livelihoods, and futures remain under constant threat from the ever-encroaching Kapotakkho River.
