Severe erosion caused by the Padma and Jamuna rivers has taken a devastating turn in Manikganj, leaving thousands of families in panic as homesteads, croplands and key public institutions are being engulfed by the advancing riverbanks.
Triggered by heavy upstream flow from hill regions and continuous rainfall, the rivers have become increasingly aggressive, affecting Daulatpur, Harirampur, Shibalaya and Ghior upazilas.
In Daulatpur, the situation has become particularly critical, with Shukuria Dakhil Madrasa, Omar Ali High School and the historic Baghutia Old Market now under serious threat of collapse into the river. Locals fear these structures could be lost at any moment without urgent intervention.
“As the water level rises, large chunks of the bank are collapsing every day,” said Salehin Momin, a resident of Baghutia. “People are living in constant anxiety over losing their homes and the local marketplace.”
The crisis is equally severe in Harirampur’s Kanchanpur Union, where the Padma has already consumed 12 of its 13 mouzas. During this monsoon alone, another 12 to 13 homesteads have been washed away. Significant erosion has also been reported in Salimpur, Hariraghat North Patgram and Kushiarchar.
Kanchanpur Union Parishad Chairman Rupok Gazi expressed deep concern over the situation, saying the entire union faces disappearance. “Twelve of our 13 mouzas are already gone,” he said. “Without permanent river training works, the whole area will eventually vanish from the map.”
In response, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has begun emergency protective works, dumping geo-bags along a 770-metre stretch in Shibalaya and Ghior. The work includes 350 metres near Paturia Ferry Terminal No 5, 300 metres in the Social Pand area and 120 metres in Ghior’s Kusta area.
BWDB Executive Engineer Md Akteruzzaman said vulnerable points are under round-the-clock monitoring. He added that a major river training project worth Tk1,500 crore has been initiated to provide a permanent solution to erosion in the district.
However, locals say temporary measures such as geo-bag dumping are not enough, urging swift implementation of the permanent project to end recurring displacement and loss along the riverbanks.
