Erosion by Gorai turns appalling in Magura
20 homesteads, 20 hectares of land enter the river’s gorge in a few days
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The ferocity of the Gorai River erosion has reached a new high in recent time with its ever-devastating traits.
The eroding Gorai that flows through Sreepur upazila of the district has engulfed 20 homesteads in Kamlapur and Matikata villages of the upazila in the last few days.
Apart from erosion, 20 hectares of cropland have also gone under water in the two villages, due to the ongoing flood.
Erosion-affected people have taken shelter on the WDB (Water Development Board) embankment with their belongings.
On the other hand, 50 more houses and 100 hectares of cropland in the two villages are on the verge of entering the gorge of the gluttonous river at any time .
Moreover, the WDB embankment and a number of electric poles in the villages are highly vulnerable to the river erosion.
Abu Imam Md Baker, executive director of ISArDO, a Magura-based NGO dealing with environment, said the river has accumulated silt over a large area for want of dredging, accentuating the eroding trait.
A number of cracks have developed in the embankment of the river, making it (embankment) much more vulnerable to the erosion.
The erosion may take a far more devastating form at any time breaching the dam unless effective preventive steps are taken in time, he warned.
Erosion victim Moteleb Hossen of village Matikata said, "As the river has devoured our houses, we have taken shelter on the WDB embankment along with our livestock. We are passing night sleepless in fear of theft or robbery."
Another victim Narayan Mondal of the same village said the river erosion has made him homeless. Now he is in extreme fear that he may lose his cropland in the erosion.
The chairman of the erosion-affected Kadirpara union under Sreepur upazila said Gorai river erosion has taken a severe turn in two villages of the upazila.
"In the meantime, we have informed Sreepur upazila Nirbahi officer and WDB executive engineer to take necessary steps immediately. But our appeals seem to have gone unheeded."
When contacted, Magura WDB executive engineer Sarwar Jahan Shujan said, "We have written to the higher authority to repair 10 damaged points of the Goarai River. We will start the repair work just after receiving the fund."