10,000 stranded as Teesta embankment breaches flood villages in Rangpur

Highlights

• Two Teesta embankment breaches stranded around 10,000 people in Rangpur.
• About 150 metres of volunteer-built embankments were washed away.
• Over 100 homes and key infrastructure face severe erosion risk.

Around 10,000 people have been stranded after breaches in two embankments along the Teesta River flooded several villages in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur.

The breaches developed at the volunteer-built embankments in Ward No 8 of Nohali Union following a sudden rise in the Teesta's water level, allowing floodwater to enter nearby villages.

A visit to the area found that nearly 150 metres of the embankments have already been washed away by the river.

A vast tract of cropland has gone underwater, while floodwater has inundated villages, disrupting normal life.

The erosion has also put more than 100 homesteads, educational institutions, mosques, a temple, roads and other infrastructures at risk.

Residents of Char Baghdhogra, Char Kachari, Chilakhal, Binbinia and Mukutpara said families, particularly children, elderly people and livestock, are facing severe hardship, with many taking shelter at relatives' houses.

Monayem Hossain, a local resident, said hundreds of people lose their homes to river erosion every year, but no permanent solution has been implemented.

"The embankment has already lost about 150 metres to the river. If the main embankment is breached, thousands of people will lose their homes. A few thousand geo bags will not be enough. A permanent embankment project is urgently needed," he said.

Abdul Karim, another resident, said several houses have already disappeared into the river before their eyes.

"My house could be the next. If I lose my homestead, I will have nowhere to go. If no one gives me a place to relocate, I will have to move to Dhaka with my family and earn a living by pulling a rickshaw," he said. 

Mominul Islam, another affected resident, said repeated erosion has already washed away homes, farmland, a mosque, a madrasa and schools.

"We do not want relief. We want a permanent embankment to protect us," he said.

Executive Engineer of the Rangpur Water Development Board (WDB) Robiul Islam said 4,500 geo bags have already been allocated to protect the embankment, and dumping work is underway.

"More geo bags will be supplied if necessary. We are treating the matter with utmost importance," he said.

Gangachara Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mosammat Jesmin Akter said the affected area has been inspected and the Water Development Board has been requested to take immediate measures to prevent further erosion.