Land where betel leaf gardens once stood green is now in the belly of the Padma. The river has taken several bighas from some and carefully tended betel gardens from others. Some, left with nothing, live in uncertainty; others are leaving their homesteads to find work.
This is how hundreds of farmers in Bheramara, Kushtia, are losing everything to severe erosion by the Padma. About 200 acres of cropland have disappeared into the river in the past two months alone. Betel leaf growers are hit hardest by the erosion, which is under way along about five kilometres. The area’s traditional Kuchiamora betel leaf market is also under threat.
According to local farmers, about 2,000 acres of farmland in parts of Bahadurpur and Juniadah unions of Bheramara upazila have been lost to the river in the past year. Most of it was used to grow betel leaf. Having lost both land and betel gardens, several hundred farmers are now at a loss. On a visit, severe erosion by the Padma was seen at Madhabpur, Lisendia, Raita and Arkandi in Bahadurpur union.
Locals said erosion had worsened after the river level fell. They complain that despite repeated applications and reminders, no effective steps have been taken to stop it.
Residents of Kuchiamora said about 9 to 10 bighas of land were being lost to the river every day, with no effective action by the Water Development Board and no remedy despite repeated applications. The upazila administration recently listed 320 affected betel leaf growers, who have lost about 30,000 pili of betel gardens in the past year. Compensating a loss that large will not be easy.
Hasan Ali, a betel leaf grower in Raita, said four bighas of his land and 220 pili of betel garden were lost to the river a few days ago. Having lost everything, he is now living in a helpless state, and his younger brother, unable to bear it, has gone abroad for work. Amirul Islam, a grower in Madhabpur, said his family had seven bighas on the bank of the Padma; after years of erosion only four kathas are left.
Having lost land farmed for so long, he asks who he can tell of this grief. The country’s old and traditional Kuchiamora betel leaf market grew up in the area around betel leaf farming, and the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and traders are tied to it. Those involved fear that if the erosion continues, not only farmland but the local betel leaf economy could face a serious crisis.
“A list of about 320 affected farmers in the two unions has been prepared and sent to the district. Arrangements are being made to help them,” said agriculturist Mahmuda Sultana, an officer of the upazila Department of Agricultural Extension.
“I have already seen the area on the ground. Erosion is happening along about five kilometres, of which three kilometres are extremely high risk. The erosion cannot be stopped with emergency measures. A project proposal has been sent, and a permanent solution will be put in place if the project is approved,” said Asfaud Daula, executive engineer of the Water Development Board.
“I have visited the affected area several times. The Water Development Board has been urged to stop the erosion. A list of affected farmers has been prepared, and the upazila administration will help them,” said Bheramara upazila nirbahi officer Amirul Arafat. Yet with land being lost every day, effective protection has become more urgent for affected farmers than reassurance. If action is not taken in time, more land, betel gardens and the last of people’s livelihoods may be lost to the Padma.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report