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January
7, 2001
Chapainawabganj, Jan 6 (UNB) - Unabated erosion by the mighty Padma changed the geographical map of the frontier district during the last 30 years rendering over one lakh people homeless.
Over one hundred educational institutions, many hat-bazars and several human habitations went into the gorge of river Padma inflicting a loss over Tk 300 crore.
The river changed its course 13 times in the last two decades and came close to the town devouring human settlements one after another. But no effective initiatives were visible to protect the erosion.
The erosion by the river started in 1960s and took serious turn in the 1990s. It grabbed a vast portion of Panka, Narayanpur, Uzirpur and Durlabpur unions uprooting thousands of residents from their homesteads and turning them economically and socially impoverished.
In the face of huge mass demand, the government allocated Tk 31.1 crore for constructing two-kilometer embankment in 1994. But in 1995, a meeting of the ECNEC reduced the figure at Tk 6.90 crore and the project was approved in 1996.
But the government sanctioned Tk 35 lakh only and Water Development Board made 14,500 CC blocks in first phase at a cost of Tk 31.4 lakh and dropped those into the river near Narayanpur School to protect river erosion but the exercise proved futile.
Meanwhile, in the face of continuous erosion, the Padma merged with the Pagla near Ratneshwarpur. Following the merger of the two rivers, the erosion intensified threatening the very existence and Nawabganj town and Rajshahi-Nawabganj highway.
Over 20,000 people from all strata, including the journalists, physicians and elite, gheraoed the DC office demanding construction of an embankment and filed a memorandum to the Prime Minister.
In this context, the government approved a project of Tk 65 crore to construct 16 kilometer embankment with eight spurs from Dhurlabpur to Narayanpur last year. But the project is yet to see daylight due to reason unknown.
Concerned sources said if the work on the project could not be started in time, the Tk 65 crore project would go in vein as the Padma may change its course at any moment.
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