An eroded riverbank in Dhubri

June 25: The monsoon has brought back with it familiar woes.

Erosion on the south bank of the Brahmaputra has displaced several families and damaged more than 30 shops over the past week.

The swelling river has already gobbled up as many as 50 bigha of agriculture land and submerged houses of 20 families in Suryamoni village.

The village falls under Rabhatari Gaon Panchayat in South Salmara Assembly constituency.

The displaced families have taken shelter in makeshift camps at Ishadari High School and Chariar Char Lower Primary School in the neighbourhood.

An official source confirmed that erosion had affected 90 families and damaged 35 commercial establishments in Fakirganj Bazaar, bringing trade almost to a standstill.

The district administration pressed into service four motorboats yesterday to rescue marooned people. Two buffalo-drawn carts were used to shift the displaced families to safer places.

Moinul Hoque, a resident of Suryamoni village, said floodwaters from the Brahmaputra submerged his four-bigha strip of land and standing crops last week. Sifur Rahman, Habirool Islam and Saharban Bewa too lost their crops and houses in the deluge.

In Fakirganj, erosion displaced nearly 2.5 lakh people living along the 75-km stretch on the south bank of the Brahmaputra.

The secretary of the Brahmaputra Garakhohoniya Pratirodh Samiti, Sakoat Hussain, said his organisation has been trying to attract the government’s attention over the past five years with little success.

“The administration seems least bothered about preventing loss of crops and land,” he added.

According to a conservative estimate, nearly 16,000 families in 320 villages have been affected by erosion in the past few years.

“We have organised several meetings in the area and intend to send a memorandum to chief minister Tarun Gogoi, demanding a permanent solution to this problem. We also want all displaced families to be properly rehabilitated,” Hussain said.