Experts and rights activists urged the government on Sunday to take immediate steps to protect thousands of people, their livelihoods and assets threatened by erosion of the rivers — the Jamuna , the Ganges and the Padma.
They asked the government to take the steps responding to forecasts of since 2004 of the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services which states that erosion by the rivers would displace more than 24,000 people in 15 districts this year.
Nazrul Islam, chairman of Center for Urban Studies, told New Age, 'It's the responsibility of the government to take steps immediately to protect and rehabilitate thousands of people threatened by erosion.'
Millions of people rendered homeless by erosion in Bangladesh ended up in urban slums.
Since 2004, CEGIS has been forecasting morphological changes based on studies of the behavior of the Jamuna, the Ganges and the Padma.
Nazrul Islam said that erosion threatens their existence, livelihoods and belongings.
The victims of erosion are always neglected, he said.
The government generally supports the victims of flood and tidal surge, he said
But the rehabilitation of people, who lose everything, thrown out of their homes and hearths by river erosion —the worst victims of natural disaster —are generally neglected, he said.
Nazrul Islam said that every year thousands of people migrate to urban centres to take shelter in slums after losing everything including, their ancestral property due to river erosion.
The middle class families among the victims of erosion become the worst sufferers as they cannot take shelter in slums, he said.
He said that the government should take a comprehensive plan including providing insurance coverage to the victims of erosion.
According to the CEGIS forecast, about 2,428 hectares of land, habitations on 413 hectares, 2,620 metres of embankment, 770 metres of roads in the districts, 770 metres of roads in upazilas and 3,990 metres of rural roads are vulnerable to erosion by the three rivers,
Besides, it says erosion by the rivers also threaten this year 35 educational institutions, four market places, six government offices, one NGO office and two health centres.
The studies identified at least 45 locations as most vulnerable to erosion.
Experts said that the rivers could erode other lateral locations as well within 100 metres along the rivers.
Adilur Rahman, general Secretary of rights organisation Odhikar, asked the government to make the people aware about the possible consequences of the impending erosion by the rivers.
He said it is the responsibility of the government to identify whether or not the impending erosion would be due to natural or man-made causes that is upstream interventions with the flows of the international rivers.
Rahman said that pursuing a weak kneed foreign policy, the government remains silent about the upstream interventions with the international rivers.
State minister for water resources M. Mahbubur Rahman said the government was aware about the CEGIS forecast.
He said that the departments concerned have been asked to provide support to people threatened by erosion.
Source : New Age
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