Dhubri erosion displaces hundreds - Concrete roads proposed for island; erosion threatens NH31

Dhubri erosion displaces hundreds - Concrete roads proposed for island; erosion threatens NH31

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Residents of Panchughat in Dhubri town dismantle their houses and shops on Thursday. Telegraph picture Dhubri, July 21: About a hundred families of Ward 3, located along the bank of the Brahmaputra, have been displaced here since last night. Unabated erosion by the Gangadhar also engulfed huge areas near National Highway 31 near Beer Chilarai bridge, about 40km from this town. As a result, hundreds of families have been forced to take shelter elsewhere. Erosion at Panchughat in Ward 3 affected homesteads and business establishments, mostly stationery and grocery shops and eateries. Prafulla Das, 62, a resident of the area, said he had lost both his house and shop in last night’s erosion and floods. “The river gobbled more than 50 shops and nearly a hundred houses last night. An equal number of houses were dismantled and the materials shifted elsewhere,” he added. Another resident, Joymala Das, said they had been living at Panchughat for the past 18 years but erosion had destroyed everything. “We don’t know where we shall go now. There is no place nearby. Even if we manage to find a shelter, where shall we earn our livelihood?” Das said. Unabated erosion from Choto Guma to Char Binna Char near the Indo-Bangladesh border in the district has uprooted hundreds of families in the past few years. The river is now approaching National Highway 31 near Beer Chilarai bridge. Safar Ali Sheikh of Belguri village near the bridge said the river was just 100 metres from NH31 and would submerge it any day this monsoon if immediate steps were not taken. Read in detail at :- www.cdrn.org.in