Rangpur: People affected by the Teesta river erosion today staged a sit-in protest in front of the Northern Zone office of the Water Development Board (WDB) demanding the construction of an embankment to protect them from the river erosion. They carried various livelihood tools such as fishing nets, ploughs, yokes, ladders, and spray machines with them while taking part in the sit-in protest programme this afternoon.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the participants included farmers, fishermen, farm-labourers, homeless and landless people, and others affected by the erosion along the Teesta River in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, and Kurigram districts. Addressing the event, Mohammad Mujibur Rahman, a farmer from village Boirati in Kaliganj of Lalmonirhat district, shared his plight, stating that he was completely devastated as all his seven bighas of land had washed away recently.
Victim Md Shahidul Islam from Gangachara upazila in Rangpur emphasized the urgency of building the embankment, fearing that the situation would worsen if water enters during the upcoming rainy season. He appealed for immediate action to prevent further loss of homes and properties that are already on the verge of collapse.
The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Water Resources Adviser of the interim government through the Chief Engineer of Northern Zone Md Mahbubur Rahman. Md Mahbubur Rahman stated that if the Teesta Master Plan implementation is delayed, a project allocation for embankment construction would be requested for the affected area. He confirmed that the memorandum had been forwarded to the Water Resources Adviser.
Meanwhile, public discussions on the Teesta River's integrated dredging and restoration activities under the proposed Teesta Master Plan project are ongoing in greater Rangpur, with the aim of implementing the project in the future.