People from seven unions in Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila form a human chain in front of Chapainawabganj Press Club yesterday demanding steps to protect their areas from erosion by the Padma and Mohananda rivers. Photo: STARHundreds of erosion victims of seven unions in Sadar upazila formed human chain and held a rally in front of the press club in the town yesterday morning demanding embankments to stop onslaught of two rivers.
People of shoal areas organised the programme under the banner of Sadar Upazilar Abohelito Jonogon. Leaders and activists of different political parties including ruling party men joined the human chain.
Speakers at the rally said, the erosion affected hundreds of families in Alatuli, Sundarpur, Narayanpur, Charbagdanga, Shahjahanpur, Debinagar and Islampur unions in the last two to three years.
Thousands of acres of crop land, a huge number of mango orchards and bamboo clusters went into the rivers Padma and Mohanada, they said.
Several hundred structures and establishments including schools, madrasas and mosques are facing the threat of erosion by the rivers, they said.
"We are united to realise our demands although we are leaders and workers of different political parties," said a speaker.
"We were solvent farmers only a year ago. The furious Padma devoured our croplands. Erosion has turned us paupers and jobless", said erosion victim Farhad Hossain of Debinagar union, who joined the human chain.
Like Farhad Hossain, hundreds of others of the seven unions fell victim to erosion as Padma and Mohananda devoured hundreds of houses and a vast tract of cultivable lands of these areas within the last two to three years, the participants said.
Harunur Rashid and Latifur Rahman, former lawmakers of Chapainawabganj-3 (Sadar) constituency, Ziaur Rahman Tota and Shantana Haque, vice chairmen of Sadar upazila parishad, Zahidul Islam Palash, chairman of Debinagar union and Motiur Rahman, chairman of Sundarpur union, among others, spoke at the rally.
Chapainawabganj Water Development Board (WDB) office sources said, a proposal to protect Alatuli union from erosion has already been submitted to the relevant ministry.
Lawmaker of Chapainawabganj-3 constituency Abdul Wadud said that a move is on to take up a project for building a permanent embankment in Alatuli union where work of another embankment is still going on in Charbagdanga union.
If the government allots over Tk 150 crore funds for Alatuli embankment in next Ecnec meeting, we shall try to start construction this dry season, he said.
