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IANS
DHAKA
As moderate to heavy rainfall continued across Bangladesh on Thursday, thousands of victims of river erosion were living in shelters or in the houses of friends or relatives after losing their land and livelihood to a rising, hungry river.
Imam Hossain, a prosperous trader in the Char Jujira village in Shariatpur district in central Bangladesh, who owned a cooking gas supply agency, a supermarket, two houses and several acres of farming land, is today a pauper.
"Once we were known as a Zamindar (landlord) here, but now we have become a destitute,"Hossain, who is currently living in the house of a relative, was cited as saying by Efe news. Since June, when the monsoon season started in Bangladesh, the Padma River devoured a vast area in the district.
According to the local government, at least 5,081 families were displaced in three months. Hossain said his house was located at least 500 metres away from the river bank, but as the rains started the entire area gradually eroded away.
