Floodwaters recede but erosion worsens along Teesta, 20,000 families stranded

Although water levels of the Teesta River have started receding thousands of people in northern Bangladesh remained stranded while fresh riverbank erosion is threatening homes, roads, embankments and critical infrastructure in five districts.

At least 20,000 families are still marooned in low-lying and char areas of Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha and Nilphamari as floodwaters from the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers continue to fluctuate, according to Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials.

Riverbank erosion has intensified in several areas, displacing dozens of families and putting key flood protection structures and roads at risk.

BWDB Superintending Engineer for Rangpur region Ahsan Habib said at least 65 families have already lost their homes to river erosion over the past two days across the five northern districts.

He also said water levels could rise again over the next few days, prompting authorities to use loudspeakers to alert residents in vulnerable char areas to remain prepared.

According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over the next two days in Rangpur Division and upstream areas in India's West Bengal, followed by moderate to heavy rainfall for another three days.

BWDB officials said the Teesta River may rise again and flow above the danger level within the next three days.

Earlier this season, the Teesta first crossed the danger mark on June 23 before receding the following day. Water levels rose above the danger level again on June 29.

In Rangpur's Gangachara upazila, strong currents have damaged the Teesta Bridge protection embankment and groynes built along the river's right bank.

Floodwaters have inundated vast low-lying areas of Kolkonda and Lakkhitari unions, leaving many families stranded and cutting off communication with char villages.

Jute fields, groundnut farms and Aman seedbeds have gone underwater.

Severe erosion has also been reported along the Teesta in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram, while the Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers continue to erode riverbanks, forcing riverside residents into uncertainty.

Local residents said nearly 150 metres of a bridge protection embankment at Mahipur have already been washed away.

The erosion now threatens the Second Teesta Road Bridge, the Rangpur-Kakina regional highway and thousands of nearby homes.

Road sections approaching the bridge have developed large cracks, sinkholes and subsidence, creating risks for commuters and vehicles.

Upazila Engineer Shah Md Obaidur Rahman said officials have been instructed to inspect the damage and repair work would begin as soon as possible.

Hundreds of homes, educational institutions, rural roads and cropland across the five districts remain under knee-deep water.

Residents say they are struggling with shortages of food, safe drinking water and livestock feed, while farmers fear extensive damage to Aman rice seedbeds and vegetable fields.

Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in the Rangpur region Sirajul Islam said preliminary estimates show that floodwaters have inundated about 320 hectares of Aman paddy, eight hectares of black gram, 860 hectares of seed groundnuts and 790 hectares of vegetable fields.

A detailed assessment of crop losses is being prepared, he added.

Abdul Halim, a farmer from Char Shankardah village, said the water had risen overnight, submerging homes."Now the water is receding, but we're worried about river erosion," he said.

Rahima Begum, who has taken shelter in a flood shelter, said she was struggling to care for her children and livestock after floodwater entered her house.

"We have not received any relief yet," she said.

Farmer Salam Uddin of Kolkonda said his one-and-a-half acres of farmland remained underwater."We're also facing a shortage of cattle feed, and our Aman seedbeds may be destroyed," he said.

In Kaunia upazila, residents of riverside char villages said they remained on alert as water levels continued to fluctuate.

Meanwhile, in Kurigram's Ulipur and Nageshwari upazilas, about 200 metres of flood protection embankment have reportedly been washed away by the Teesta's strong current.

Across the river from Baraibari ferry ghat in Gangachara stands a nearly seven-kilometre earthen embankment built not by the government but by local villagers through donations and voluntary labour.

For the past three years, the embankment has protected nearly 12,000 families in five villages from flooding.

Now, rising water and strong currents have begun eroding sections of the structure, raising fears that if a supporting embankment collapses, the main embankment may also fail.

Local residents said they built the embankment themselves after repeated appeals to the Water Development Board for permanent protection went unanswered following devastating floods three years ago.

The BWDB has placed around 200 geo-bags along vulnerable sections in an effort to slow the erosion.

Local representatives criticised what they described as delayed preventive measures.

Lakkhitari Union Parishad Chairman Abdullah Al Hadi said timely placement of geo-bags could have prevented much of the current damage.

He said bamboo piling installed earlier as a temporary protection measure had collapsed during the first strong flow of the monsoon, rendering a project worth around Tk 1.4 million ineffective.

Balapara Union Parishad Chairman Ansar Ali warned that if upstream flows continue to increase, more riverside villages could be flooded.

Rangpur Divisional Commissioner Shahidul Islam said the administration was closely monitoring the situation.

He said authorities were preparing lists of affected families and relief assistance would begin shortly.

Local residents, however, say emergency relief alone will not solve the recurring crisis.

They are demanding permanent rehabilitation of erosion victims and long-term river management projects to protect communities along the Teesta from repeated floods and riverbank erosion.