Locals suffer as Teesta devours key road

Nearly 300 metres of an unpaved road along the Teesta riverbank in Khuniagachh union of Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila have been eroded over the past one month, causing severe hardship for more than 2,000 families living in several shoals nearby.

Residents of Char Harinchara, Paschim Harinchara, Majher Char and Adarshapara used to regularly commute and transport their agricultural produce to local markets via the road using battery-run easybikes, rickshaw-vans and other vehicles, said Mokbul Hossain, 70, a local farmer.

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At present, vehicles can no longer use the damaged road. As a result, commuters now have to travel on foot, while farmers have to manually carry their agricultural produce to and from markets, facing much inconvenience, he added.

Sirajul Islam, 55, another local farmer, said, “Since early July, strong river currents began hitting the road, eroding nearly 300 metres of it.”

Residents expressed concern that although the erosion had eased somewhat recently, it could resume if the river’s water level rises.

They demanded that the authorities repair the road promptly and take permanent measures to prevent further erosion.

Al Amin Sarkar, upazila project implementation officer of the Department of Disaster Management in Lalmonirhat Sadar, said the damaged section of the road would be repaired once the water level recedes.

Shunil Kumar, executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Lalmonirhat, said, “We tried to protect the only road from erosion by placing sand-filled geo-bags along the vulnerable section, but the river current was too strong to prevent erosion that way.”

“We will take necessary measures to protect the road from further erosion,” he added.