Severe erosion along the Gorai River in Shailkupa upazila has sparked alarm among residents of five villages, after hundreds of bighas of farmland were washed away over the past several years. The damage has worsened sharply during the current monsoon, with three new erosion points opening up along the riverbank.
The affected areas fall under the Sarutia and Dhalharachandra unions. According to the Jhenaidah Water Development Board (WDB), erosion now spans roughly 5.5 kilometres of riverbank, covering Bururia village in Sarutia union and the Ulubaria, Mazdia, Bandekhali and Kashinathpur Ghat areas in Dhalharachandra union.
Hundreds of Bighas of Farmland Already Lost
A visit to the region found that several hundred bighas of farmland in Bururia village have already been swallowed by the river. The WDB has placed geo-bags at some points to slow the erosion, but many affected families have already left their homes for safer ground.
Fresh erosion has also emerged in Mazdia, Ulubaria, Bandekhali and Kashinathpur Ghat, driven by heavy rainfall and rising upstream water flow that have strengthened currents along the banks. Around 100 bighas of fertile land in Ulubaria village alone have disappeared into the river. Officials estimate that roughly 600 acres of farmland have been lost across the affected points despite the presence of geo-bags in some locations for several years.
Residents Describe Losing Everything
For farmers in the area, the erosion has meant watching their livelihoods disappear.
“Our crop fields are going into the river. If the authorities had taken measures earlier, the situation would not have reached this point. I urge the new government to take swift and effective steps to prevent further erosion.”
That was the appeal from Hafizur Rahman, a local farmer affected by the erosion. Another resident, Alam Khan, said he now has no farmland left besides his homestead, and worries about where his family would go if that too is lost to the river.
Md Shahin Alam, a resident of Ulubaria, said the river has shifted nearly half a kilometre southward over the past decade because of continuous erosion, pushing many families to abandon their homes out of fear. He added that the geo-bags placed at limited locations have not been enough to halt the erosion.
Officials Point to Shifting River Course
Jhenaidah WDB Executive Engineer Ranjan Kumar Das attributed the long-running erosion to changes in the Gorai River’s course over more than a decade, which he said has pulled land from several Shailkupa villages into the riverbed.
Das said approval has already been secured for a permanent protection project, and that a feasibility study for it is now in its final stage. Construction of sustainable block embankments in the erosion-affected areas is expected to begin during the coming winter season, once the study is complete.
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A Familiar Pattern Along Bangladesh’s Rivers
The erosion in Shailkupa mirrors a broader pattern seen along the Gorai-Madhumati river system, which cuts through southwestern Bangladesh and has eroded riverbanks in districts including Kushtia and Rajbari in recent years. Government estimates have flagged more than a dozen areas nationwide as vulnerable to being wiped off the map by major rivers and their tributaries, with erosion accelerating during the monsoon when water levels and currents both rise.
For now, residents in Bururia, Ulubaria and the surrounding villages are left watching the riverbank inch closer to their homes, with a permanent embankment still months away and this year’s monsoon far from over.
Summary: Riverbank erosion along the Gorai River in Shailkupa upazila, Jhenaidah has intensified this monsoon season, swallowing hundreds of bighas of farmland across five villages and forcing residents to abandon their homes. Water Development Board officials say a permanent embankment project is now in its final planning stage.
