Severe erosion along the Padma River has destroyed vast stretches of farmland and displaced at least 1,000 families in Chapainawabganj, raising concerns over the next cropping season as farmers struggle to recover from flood-related losses.
Following this year’s floods, erosion has intensified in Narayanpur of Sadar upazila and several areas of Shibganj, including Durlabhpur, Namo Jagannathpur, Fielderhat, Kanchira, Boglauri and Jhailpara.
Local representatives estimate that several thousand acres of farmland have been affected, with erosion and the formation of sandbars altering stretches along approximately 10 kilometres of riverbanks.
Panka Union Parishad Chairman Mohammad Abdul Malek said farmers needed to cultivate wheat, mustard and maize on around 4,000 acres as floodwaters receded. However, many lacked sufficient cash after suffering flood-related losses.
He urged the government to provide free or subsidised seeds to help farmers resume cultivation.
Beyond the agricultural losses, the erosion has swallowed homes and public facilities, forcing riverside communities to relocate repeatedly.
Residents said some families had moved eight to 10 times over the past four to five years. The river has reportedly advanced seven to eight kilometres into parts of Narayanpur, Panka, Uzirpur and Durlabhpur unions, leaving many families landless.
Whenever erosion threatens homes, announcements over mosque loudspeakers prompt neighbours to rush to affected households, sometimes late at night, to help dismantle and move structures.
Malek said erosion had changed the landscape of four unions, with approximately 500 families losing their homes in Panka and neighbouring areas.
He said extensive erosion had continued for several days in Nishipara, Dakshin Panka, Bish Rashia, Jackpara, Dobhagi, Monohorpur and Fielderhat.
Residents Mahbub Alam, Mosharraf Hossain and Sadikul Islam called for immediate embankment construction to protect vulnerable communities.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) Executive Engineer Mehedi Hasan Mishuk said a Tk748 crore riverbank protection project had been undertaken, with approximately Tk300 crore allocated for construction and protection work this year.
The project covers 16 sections of the left bank, totalling 1,940 metres, and seven sections of the right bank, extending 3.90 kilometres.
A BWDB engineer identified several other erosion-hit areas, including Ayub Biswas’s Tola, Dailpara, Alatuli, Debinagar and Harma, where homes, schools, madrasas and health facilities have been lost or threatened.
Residents blamed changes in the Padma’s flow on India’s upstream Farakka Barrage, although a direct causal link has not been established.
Earlier riverbank protection work between Sundarpur and Alatuli unions has been completed, but residents are demanding urgent intervention in areas still facing erosion.
