Dudhkumar, Gangadhar devour 180 houses

At least 180 dwelling houses and 100 acres of cropland have been devoured by the Dudhkumar and Gangadhar rivers in three unions of two upazilas under the district.

Of the affected unions, one is under Bhurungamari upazila while the rest two are under Nageshwari upazila.

Abdul Aziz, chairman of Banga Sonahat union under Bhurungamari upazila, said the Dudhkumar devoured the dwelling houses of about 150 families of Ganairkuthi and Char Baldia villages in the union in the last four days. The erosion has taken a serious turn on the western side of Sonahat Bridge, which is also under threat.

Erosion by the Gangadhar is continuing in North Dhanirumpur, South Dhanirumpur and Balahat villages under Kachkata union of Nageshwari upazila. Houses of around 30 families and around 100 acres of cropland went into the river in the last four days, said Hasem Ali, chairman of Kachkata union.

The local Water Development Board (WDB) has not taken any step yet to control the erosion, Hasem added.

"Kaliganj Bazaar, Shalmara Government Primary School and Shalmara Dakhil Madrasha of Kaliganj union are threatened by erosion by the Dudhkumar and the Gangadhar Rivers. About 1.5 kilometers of flood control embankment in the union has been damaged in the recent flood," said Nur Islam, chairman of Kaliganj union. Lalmonirhat WDB has not worked to control erosion in the union since 1993, he added.

Abdul Kader, sub-divisional engineer of WDB in Lalmonirhat, said, "No work is going on for controlling erosion by Dudhkumar and Gangadhar rivers in Bhurungamari and Nageshwari upazilas. We have already informed the higher authority about the situation and sought fund for taking necessary measures to stop further onslaught by the rivers."