Village on the Verge of Disappearing Due to Madhumati River Erosion

Anwar Zahid/Abu Bakar Siddiqui, from Alfadanga

Severe erosion by the Madhumati River has taken a devastating turn in Char Kholabaria village of Buraich Union in Faridpur’s Alfadanga upazila. Thousands of men and women from the area formed a large human chain along the riverbank on Thursday, demanding a permanent embankment to protect their homesteads and educational institutions.
Locals said two mosques, between 120 and 130 homesteads and around 500 acres of farmland have already been washed away by the river. Several government and private establishments are now at serious risk, including the historic NDC Al-Hera Dakhil Madrasa, Dignagar Government Primary School, Char Kholabaria Government Primary School, a sub-post office, an orphanage and six mosques.

The river has come within just 40 yards of Al-Hera Dakhil Madrasa. Around 350 students and 16 teachers and staff of the institution are spending their days in extreme anxiety.
Class 10 students Abdul Jabbar and Fatema Khanam said their final examinations are approaching. If the erosion is not stopped immediately, their studies will be severely disrupted.
Madrasa Superintendent Md. Abdur Rab and Char Kholabaria Government Primary School Headteacher Alamgir Khan said the disappearance of the institutions into the river would extinguish the light of education in the area. They therefore want a permanent solution rather than the temporary placement of geobags.

Local farmers Khokon Mia and Abdus Sattar Mia expressed their frustration, saying acres of their farmland and their homes had been swallowed by the river this year alone. Having lost everything, they are now living in miserable conditions after building houses on other people’s land.
Abdul Wahab Pannu, chairman of Buraich Union Parishad, said Char Makrail village has already disappeared into the river. If erosion continues at this rate, Char Kholabaria and Dignagar villages will also disappear from the map of Alfadanga.

Alfadanga Upazila Nirbahi Officer (current charge) and Assistant Commissioner (Land) A.K.M. Raihanur Rahman said higher authorities had been informed in writing about the need for a permanent embankment. Meanwhile, an initiative is being taken to place geobags quickly to temporarily prevent further erosion.
Md. Rakib Hossain, executive engineer of the Faridpur Water Development Board, said geobags would be placed in the erosion-affected areas on an emergency basis within the next two days, considering the situation. However, he said implementing a permanent embankment project would take some time.