Floods destroy livelihoods in Bangladesh
25 August 2000

Every bend of the river that you turn contains a surprise as river erosion eats away large tracts of land before your eyes. You may find that the village you were looking for is now part of the main river bed and covered with three metres of swirling water.

River erosion along the banks of the Jamuna and Padma rivers in Bangladesh is leading to severe flooding. More than this, it is breaking up traditional life and families. These were the findings of a Red Cross Red Crescent assessment mission.

"Most of us have lost what little land we had, many have lost their houses and everything they owned. But worst of all, we have lost our means of livelihood," explains villager Hasan Mollah. "Many of us worked as day labourers for the big landowners, who have also lost their land too and are now as poor as us. Already my son has left for Dhaka to be a rickshaw driver and other villagers have left in the past few days to find work as coolies (porters). River erosion is breaking up our traditional life and families. We have nowhere to go, no work, who can help us?" he asked, sadly.

Mollah's village of Shar Dhublia used to lie on the banks of the Jamuna (Brahmaputra) River, just 4 kms from its confluence with the mighty Padma (Ganges). Last week, when flood water from India joined the already swollen Jamuna River, the force and level of the river quickly eroded the river bank, then washed 2 kms inland, inundating hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of prime agricultural land. Some of the 1,000 families who have lived on this land for many generations, managed to move away their simple houses and belongings, but others lost everything. Now they shelter on embankments, or for some of the lucky ones, in old abandoned buildings.

Mihir Kumar Das, Director of the Relief department of the Bangladesh Red Crescent (BDRCS), was visiting the disaster zone. "I was born on the other side of the river and know this region well. As a child and young man we had regular floods, but in 50 years I have never know river erosion be such a major problem," he says. "I think the floods of 1998 set off a new and severe pattern of annual river erosion, as they were so immense that river banks were either broken or weakened."

In neighbouring Harirampur, the Padma River has engulfed 48 villages. The only remains of once thriving settlements was a lone concrete bridge and a line of power poles, whose sagging wires almost touched the flood waters. Thousands of evacuees huddle together on river banks, alongside those who had still not been rehabilitated from the 1998 and 1999 floods.

Across Bangladesh, the devastation has affected more than 1.2 million people. The BDRCS district branches have responded with relief from small stocks they had in warehouses, but Federation Head of Delegation Bob McKerrow recognises that they are only touching the tip of a colossal iceberg of needs.

"We have launched an appeal for 3 million Swiss francs to help 200,000 people with foods and medical care. Unless we can get this money quickly, the victims of river erosion who are becoming more vulnerable as each day passes, will starve and weaken. Our emergency funds can only meet the needs of a small number of the most desperate," he adds.