Rangpur-1 (Gangachara) lawmaker Raihan Siraji visited areas affected by severe erosion along the Teesta River in Rangpur on Friday afternoon. He toured Char Kacharipara in Nohali Union and Brief Bazar and Minar Bazar in Ward No. 2 of Gangachara upazila. During the visit, he spoke with affected families, heard their accounts of hardship, and called for swift, effective measures to stop the erosion.

Siraji said the homesteads of seven families had already been swallowed by the river, while several villages were under threat because of the intensity of the erosion. Without urgent action, he said, a wider area could be lost to the river. He added that the river, once about one kilometre from homes, had reached their doorsteps, prompting many families to move their houses to safer locations.

The lawmaker said there was no alternative to placing geobags to curb erosion. He claimed that urgently placing about 20,000 geobags along the riverbank could protect several villages, hundreds of acres of farmland and important structures. He also discussed the progress, quality and effectiveness of erosion-control work with relevant officials and directed them to complete it quickly and properly.