The continuous erosion of the Jamuna River flowing in Dhunat Upazila of Bogra has taken a terrible form due to the hilly slopes and strong currents coming down from upstream. The Water Development Board is trying to stop the erosion by dumping sand-filled geo bags and tubes, but it is failing. There is no way to stop the river erosion.
Last Sunday morning, about 30 meters of the front part of the Jamuna River’s Shohrabari spur in the upazila disappeared into the riverbed. This has spread extreme erosion panic in the riverbank areas. People on the banks of the Jamuna fear that more major erosion may occur at any time. This erosion has threatened the flood control dam. They are demanding a permanent solution to prevent erosion.
According to local sources, in Shobarabari village of Bhandarbari union of Dhunat upazila, 9 businesses along with their land were submerged in the riverbed due to sudden erosion of the Jamuna river in October last year. At that time, locals alleged that the riverbed became empty due to illegal sand extraction from the Jamuna river and this terrible disaster occurred due to the strong current of the water. Later, erosion was prevented by throwing sand-filled geo bags and tubes along the eroded banks.
However, due to the recent rise in the water level in the Jamuna River, river erosion has been observed in several places between the township and Baniajan spurs since June 19. Due to the strong current, the water is hitting the riverbanks by creating a whirlpool. This has also caused erosion in the area protected by geo-bags. Vast areas of crop land are under threat of erosion. Due to this, new erosion fears have arisen among the local people.
Although the same picture is repeated every year during the monsoon season, effective initiatives are not taken to prevent permanent erosion. As a result, the riverbank areas are being lost to the Yamuna. Officials of the Water Development Board have visited the site after receiving the news. Efforts are being made to control erosion by placing geo bags in the affected areas.
Abdul Malek, Deputy Assistant Engineer of Bogra Water Development Board, said that effective measures have been taken to prevent erosion immediately after the erosion started. These special tubes filled with sand will play a very effective role in preventing river erosion. Therefore, there is no possibility of any special damage due to river erosion.
