Jamuna erosion alarming in Bogra

Mighty Jamuna devouring lands at Titporol (left) and approaching the Water Development Board embankment near Sariakandi upazila headquarter and people made homeless by erosion moving elsewhere (right). The Jamuna is only 30 metre from the dike. The photos were taken on Saturday. PHOTO: STAR

The river is only about 30 metres from the embankment at Titporol and 290 metres at Dabdanga.

Once the embankment is effected, the upazila headquarters and the river port will face erosion.

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This will cause a more disastrous situation. Once the upazila headquarters is washed away, the Jamuna will merge with the Bangali river and threaten the western approach road of the Jamuna Bridge, Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) Executive Engineer Saydur Rahman told newsmen recently..

The two rivers are now about half a kilometre away at Tipporol.

He said it will be difficult to protract about 10 kilometers embankment from Titporol to Dabdanga, built at a cost of Tk 577 crore if the erosion continues.

Sariakandi Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Akber Hassain said the erosion has turned serious at Tipporol and Dabdanga points.

Sources at WDB office said, the government last month approved a Tk 130 crore project to protect the embankment from Titporo to Dabdanga. But the work could not be started as funds are yet to be disbursed.

The World bank in a report in 1997 also said the western approach road of the Jamuna Bridge could be affected of the Jamuna and the Bangali rivers merge.

Meanwhile, at least 6000 people became homeless and several hundred hectares of land disappeared in Titporol, Antarpara, Eashamara, Dhap, Batiargram, Kalitola and adjoining areas due to Jamuna erosion, local people said.

At Kalitola, some classroom of BK High School have been shifted to a BNP office because the school is facing erosion, upazila administration officials said. About 100 hectors of cultivable land eroded into the river, they said.