The Kurigram office of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has taken measures to prevent erosion at two points in Begumganj Union in Ulipur of Kurigram after several newspapers published news on the issue.
According to Water Development Board sources, 8,000 Geo bags and 295 Geo tubes have been installed in the Mollarhat area bordering the Brahmaputra river and 500 meters in the Khudirkuti area surrounded by the Dharla river in Begumganj union of the upazila since July 8 to prevent erosion in the current monsoon season. Water Development board currently is working on emergency measures to prevent river erosion by dropping the tubes and bags.
At the eroded areas of Baladoba and Khudirkuti Akkel Mahmud Byapari villages, it can be seen that fields, Baladoba Madrasa, Khudirkuti Kashem Bazar Jame Mosque and other structures have been washed away by the river. Crop lands including Kaddar Bazar, Khudirkuti Abdul Hamid High School, Bonya Ashraya Kendra, Rostam Ali Noorani Madrasa, Eidgah ground in Byapari are still under threat of river erosion.
Residents of the affected area urged the authorities to prevent river erosion in order to protect several hundred acres of farmlands, multiple schools, mosques hats and madrasas in the area.
Omar Farooq, sub-divisional engineer of the Water Development Board, said that as the monsoon season is now in full swing, geo-bags and geo-tubes are being placed temporarily to prevent erosion of water near the water-danger line of each river.