Teesta, Dharla erosion leaves thousands in Lalmonirhat at risk

Thousands of families along the Teesta and Dharla riverbanks in Lalmonirhat face uncertainty as relentless erosion continues to wipe out homes, farmlands and livelihoods.

Over the past decade, numerous families have become landless as croplands and houses have disappeared into the riverbeds.

Once self-reliant farmers are now fighting extreme poverty after losing their last means of survival.

The residents of College para, Dhubni, Sindurna, Parulia, Dauabari, Votmari, Harinchara, Rajpur, Paglarhat in Sadar upazila, parts of Aditmari and Kaliganj upazilas, are among the worst affected ones.

"Our homestead is the only thing left as the river keeps devouring everything. Only the Almighty Allah knows how we will survive in the days ahead," said Abdur Rahman Sheikh, a 65-year-old farmer from Boomka village in Sadar upazila.

Bhola Nath Debnath, 60, from the same village, said the Teesta has already taken away five bighas of his land and the rest is under threat. "We once had a solvent life, now we are on the verge of being homeless."

Executive Engineer of Lalmonirhat Water Development Board Sunil Kumar said erosion has been reported from nearly 25 spots across the district.

Some protective work is now going on under WDB's supervision, he said, adding that they have sought allocations from higher authorities.

Geo-bag dumping will resume once funds are released, he said.