“My house is collapsing just because of sand mining. I am poor and helpless. I don’t have a single drop of land to build a house anywhere else. I have no husband, no son, and four daughters. What am I going to do now? There was no rain in January, yet the house collapsed. It is still collapsing. Everything will go away when it rains. Where will I go now?”
These words were spoken by 65-year-old Shamsunnahar Begum of Kashipur village in Lohagara upazila. Sand was extracted from the Madhumati River by dredging in front of her house. The sand was piled up behind her house. Due to the sand extraction, the sand bags of the embankment in front shifted in the water and collapsed. And the water pulled the sand piled up behind her house and her land went into the river.
On Sunday, while visiting the village of Shamsunnahar, Kashipur, and the surrounding villages of Makrail, Ramchandrapur, and Nawkhola, it was seen that the water in the Madhumati River is low and there are no waves, yet erosion is ongoing. Sandbags provided by the Water Development Board have shifted in various places and submerged in the river. As a result, old embankments have broken and erosion has started in new places. In addition to homes and cropland, Makrail Government Primary School, established in 1945, and three nearby educational institutions, several mosques, shelter projects, and village roads are at risk.
Another resident, Morjina Begum, said, “My house was destroyed by the river twice before, and I have built a new house with great difficulty. The fair land has gone into the river. The current house is also at risk of erosion.”
Makrail Government Primary School, built during the British era, is facing erosion. Taken last Sunday.Photo: Prothom Alo
Fazlul Mridha, a resident of Makrail village, said, “A few acres of my land have been washed away by this river. One of my brothers has already demolished his house and moved to another place due to fear of erosion. The river is carrying sand, due to which the bags that were on the embankment in front of my house have come down, and then erosion has started. Now the British-era school is also under threat.”
Local residents, who are afraid of erosion, said that recently, when they complained, the administration stopped sand mining in the area outside the lease. At the beginning of the new year, the lease of the sand palace in that area was also canceled, which brought relief to the locals. However, they want this ban to be permanent. So that no one can mine sand again. Even though sand mining has stopped now, erosion has not stopped. They demand the construction of a sustainable dam for a permanent solution.
In this regard, Lohagara Upazila Executive Officer Abu Riyad said, “The lease of the sand farm in that area has already been canceled due to river erosion. Now, legal action will be taken against anyone who illegally extracts sand.”
Narail Water Development Board Executive Engineer Abhijit Kumar Saha said, “We have seen on the ground that the riverbank defense embankment has been damaged due to sand extraction without following the rules. After discussing with the local administration, illegal sand extraction and leasing of sand palaces have been stopped. In addition, initiatives are being taken to quickly repair the damaged embankment.”
Source: Prothom Alo
