Kishoreganj Correspondent

The bank of the Meghna River in the Baganbari area of Bhairab Bazar in Kishoreganj has been eroding intermittently for three days.

About 50 meters of the river bank has collapsed by Wednesday morning. The erosion started last Monday night. About 200 meters of the bank have disappeared into the river in these three days. The erosion has affected Bhairab 's commercial center , two railways and a road bridge.

UNO Shabnam Sharmin of Bhairab , Water Development Board (WDB) Executive Engineer in Kishoreganj, Md. Sazzat Hossain and members of the army inspected the erosion area.

A dredger has been seized from the erosion area. However, local residents and businessmen complain that the government has not yet taken any visible steps to prevent erosion.

Bhairab Chamber of Commerce & Industry said, The Meghna River is a blessing to Bhairab. Bhairab is an economically prosperous town today due to the river's welfare. Again, this river is now Bhairab's most feared. The problem is that a lot has been said for a long time. But no permanent solution has been reached to protect Bhairab from erosion. They are now demanding an effective in port town protection dam."

Wednesday morning, Chamber leaders visited the erosion area, saw that a rail dock was being built. A rail dock is a system for lifting trawlers or boats from the water to the shore for repairs. To build the rail dock, the river bank is being cut and a path is being made by touching the river water. The erosion has started from that place. A large trawler was being built in the erosion area. The trawler is being removed due to the fear of being submerged in the river.

About 300 meters away from the erosion area are the main commercial center of Bhairab, including the launch ghat, and hundreds of multi-storey buildings. At one end, there are two railway bridges on the Dhaka-Chittagong railway and a road bridge on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway, which are at risk of erosion.

Locals said that on September 7 last year, erosion occurred in the Depot Ghat area at the Bhairab estuary of the Meghna River. At that time, the BNDC's Sargudam, oil depots of Jamuna, Meghna and Padma were at risk. In that erosion, 230 meters of land, 2 shops and 13 houses were submerged in the river. Later, erosion was initially prevented by laying geo bags. Then there was a demand for a permanent solution to prevent erosion. But initially, WDB completed the task of preventing erosion. After a gap of four and a half months, erosion occurred again.

WDB 's Executive Engineer Md. Sajjad Hossain and Sub-Divisional Engineer Atiqul Gani came to see the erosion situation on Tuesday. Executive Engineer Sajjad Hossain said, initially it seems that erosion has occurred even in the dry season due to the cutting of the river bank for the construction of the railway and the cutting of soil from the adjacent areas with a dredger. Talks are being held with senior officials regarding the erosion. Initially, it is being considered to prevent erosion by placing geo bags.

Bhairab, UNO Shabam Sarmin said that," the issue of constructing railway docks and trawlers without permission due to erosion is coming to fore.If the matter is proven in investigation, legal action will be taken against the accused persons.

Talks are being held with the concerned department to take remedial initiatives.