Residents of Panishwar union in Sarail, Brahmanbaria, say recurring Meghna River erosion has destroyed homes, rice mills, mosques, businesses and farmland for more than three decades without a permanent riverbank protection embankment. The report, published July 30, said erosion is continuing along roughly three kilometres in Palpara, Sakhaiti, Dewbaria and Layarhati, with hundreds of people facing renewed losses during each monsoon.

Local residents said the river takes more land every year and warned that remaining villages could disappear without durable protection. Acting union chairman Md Touhid Mia said several hundred families in Palpara, Sakhaiti, Sholabari and Dewbaria are directly at risk. He said about 20 rice mills and more than 100 homes have already been lost to the river.

Bangladesh Water Development Board official Mohsin Kabir Shihab said a proposal for 1,350 metres of riverbank protection work in Panishwar has been sent to the Water Resources Ministry under an integrated water resources management project. Geobags have been placed at several locations as an emergency measure. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiful Islam said the situation is highly concerning and that alleged illegal sand extraction is being examined; legal action will follow if allegations are verified.