Thousands of residents in Netrokona’s Sadar and Barhatta upazilas are living in constant fear as the relentless erosion of the Kangsa River threatens to swallow entire villages, educational institutions, and places of worship.
The situation has reached a critical point in the Kaliara-Gabragati union of Sadar upazila, where a one-kilometre stretch of the riverbank has been eroding for years.
More than a hundred homes, vast tracts of arable land, forests, and vital rural roads across at least 15 villages including Bahirkanda, Naoband, Haridaspur, Kakiakuri, Mahishashura, Choukarkanda, Sehraunda, and Karnakhala have already been lost to the water.
River erosion has severely affected Satia Government Primary School. The river has already devoured its extensive playground, leaving the lone campus building dangerously close to the riverbank. A nearby mosque, a temple, and several homesteads are also under immediate threat from the advancing erosion.
Headmaster of Satia Government Primary School, Nurul Islam shared the daily trauma faced by his pupils. “With the erosion continuing, we have to conduct our teaching activities in a state of constant panic with nearly 200 students,” he said.
The School Management Committee President, Tayyeb Ali, noted that despite multiple appeals to authorities and local representatives, no effective measures have been taken to save the institution.
The crisis intensifies during the monsoon, when hilly torrents and upstream water increase the river’s flow, though locals note that erosion often worsens once the water begins to recede. Every day, hundreds of people risk their lives navigating the crumbling riverbank paths to reach markets and schools.
In Barhatta upazila’s Baushi union, the Golamkhali, a branch of the Kangsa River, is causing similar devastation. Residents of Sadhuarkanda, Hatkhola, Chanpur, Natun Shekherpara, and Deopur villages are watching their homes, and even ancestral graveyards disappear into the river.
Chan Mia, a resident of Bahirkanda village and a former member of the Kaliara-Gabragati Union Parishad, expressed the community’s frustration. “Many houses in our area have been lost to the river. We have informed the Water Development Board many times, but to no avail,” he lamented.
Shafiqul Islam Kuddus, from the neighbouring Sidhli area in Kalmakanda upazila, recalled a time 25 years ago when the banks were densely populated. He warned that without permanent protection, such as the girder wall requested by the Satia school headmaster, the remaining villages will eventually vanish.
When contacted regarding the crisis, Executive Engineer of the Netrokona Water Development Board, Md Sakhawat Hossain, said that a project has finally been adopted to prevent further erosion. According to the official, tenders have been invited, and work is expected to commence shortly. For the villagers currently watching the ground vanish beneath their feet, these measures cannot come soon enough.
