Unseasonal and severe river erosion is wreaking havoc in Mirzaganj upazila of Patuakhali district, as the Payra River continues to claim land and lives. Even before the monsoon has arrived in full force this year, the river’s banks have already started collapsing at an alarming rate, causing widespread panic and displacement among residents.
In the past few days alone, at least seven homes, one mosque, a graveyard, and a school in the village of Piprakhali have been lost to the river. Fear grips the riverside communities, and many residents are now dismantling their brick houses and relocating to safer areas. In some heartbreaking cases, families have even started moving the remains of ancestors from graveyards to prevent them from being swept away.
Erosion is intensifying across several areas including Rampur, Bhikakhali, Sundra-Kalikapur, Golkhali-Charakhali, Chingoria, Hajikhali, Mendiabad, and Kakrabunia. Entire families are left helpless as their homes and farmland vanish before their eyes.
Despite witnessing the destruction year after year, locals claim that no permanent measures have been taken by the authorities. Over the past few years, continuous erosion has caused the loss of over a hundred homes, forcing families to seek shelter elsewhere. As the land disappears, the geographical map of Mirzaganj is literally shrinking.
A visit to the affected areas, such as Bhikakhali, Piprakhali, Sundra, and Chingoria, reveals severe cracks in the temporary embankments. In some places, the entire barrier has collapsed into the river. With the erosion now reaching dangerously close to homes, residents are urgently evacuating, carrying away even their ancestors’ remains in an effort to preserve their heritage.
Jakir Hossain, a resident of Piprakhali, said, “The river has swallowed everything, even our grandfather’s homestead. We don’t know where to go. Everything we built over a lifetime is gone.”
Locals Sultaan Mahmud, Rasel Khan, and Alomgir Hossain added that many schools, markets, and hundreds of homes in the Sundra-Kalikapur and Piprakhali areas have already been lost. Despite relocating schools and madrassas several times, these institutions still face high risk from ongoing erosion. Where once 10-12 thousand people lived in villages like Bhikakhali and Piprakhali, now only a handful of families remain.
Local union chairman Advocate Abul Bashar (Nasir) blamed the Water Development Board (WDB) for building weak embankments that are washed away during floods. “We have been demanding strong, long-term embankments for years, but nothing has been done,” he said.
Mirzaganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Tarikul Islam stated that the Water Development Board has been informed and action is expected soon.
Patuakhali WDB Executive Engineer Md. Rakib confirmed, “The erosion in Piprakhali has worsened over a 5-6 km stretch. I recently visited the area and work will soon begin on building a new embankment further inland.”
