Continuous river erosion and recurrent climate disasters are causing a rapid rise in landless families across Ashashuni upazila recently.
Many households have lost their homesteads multiple times as the Kopotakkho and Kholpetua rivers keep devouring new areas each monsoon.
Villagers from Kulla, Pratapnagar, Srkhola, Shreeula and Khajra say they are struggling to rebuild after repeated losses. Many have taken loans from NGOs or moneylenders, but declining income from farming and fish enclosures has trapped them in debt.Local residents blame the lack of permanent embankments and regular dredging for worsening erosion.
Relief support arrives after each disaster, but long-term rehabilitation remains insufficient.Experts warn that rising sea levels, salinity intrusion and more frequent cyclones will intensify the crisis in the coming years.
For now, hundreds remain displaced—uncertain when the next portion of riverbank will collapse.
