‘We were never able to build a proper house to protect ourselves against river erosion, and our house has been destroyed. We had a lot of land, but all the land was taken away by the river. We have no land anywhere else. Now we do not know where we will go.’
These words are spoken by Ali Hawlader, who has been affected by the river erosion in the Barishal division. Every year, about one million people in Bangladesh are direct victims of river erosion. The total financial loss is estimated at USD 500 million per year. A large number of houses, structures, trees, and crops on vast tracts of land are washed away by water. Deaths and injuries also follow. According to a survey, erosion leads to an annual loss of about 10,000 hectares of land and weakens natural coastal defenses and aquatic ecosystems. An estimated 0.3 million internally displaced persons typically seek refuge on roads, dams, and government-acquired land, a study has reported.
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. The country experiences different types of disasters almost every year because of the impact of climate change. River erosion is one of many silent natural disasters that occur in Bangladesh, with huge and long-term socioeconomic consequences, damage to human habitations, destruction of growing crops, and massive disruption of road connections and communication networks in the riparian areas of Bangladesh. All the land and properties of Rongila Begum, who is from the Barishal region, have been taken away by the river. ‘I have nowhere to go now. There is no place to bury me after I die,’ said Begum, in her 60s.
River erosion is one of the most unpredictable and destructive disasters in riverine Bangladesh. It destroys the existence of a community. When the house is burned, ashes remain, but nothing remains in the river erosion. There is nothing but sorrow at the edge.
