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Water levels in the Teesta River have been rising in Kurigram for several days, triggering fresh erosion along the riverbanks.
Meanwhile, around 40 metres of the Teesta cross-dam in Burirhat area of Rajarhat upazila has already been washed away.
The erosion suddenly began on Tuesday morning. The Water Development Board has started dumping geobags to protect the dam, but local residents fear it may not survive without urgent and effective measures.
If the dam collapses, around 20,000 people in the villages of Bardarga, Burirhat, Ramhari, Chatura, Kalirmela and Dangrarhat could be directly affected. Homes, farmland and at least five local markets would also be at risk.
Kurigram Water Development Board Executive Engineer Md Rakibul Hasan said necessary measures, including placing geobags in the river, have been taken to prevent further erosion.
According to the Water Development Board, the Teesta water level at the Kaunia station stood at 28.73 metres at 6am on Tuesday and rose to 28.75 metres by 9am. The danger level there is 29.31 metres.
Local residents and eyewitnesses said erosion began around 7am, initially affecting parts of the road on the Burirhat cross-dam before spreading to both its northern and southern sides. The strong current has washed away soil and sand beneath the dam, worsening the situation.
Residents Baharar Ali and Salam Mia said they had noticed unusually strong currents on Monday and signs of erosion similar to those seen last year.
“Although we had warned about the risk, no effective measures were taken at the time,” they said.
Another Burirhat resident, Maidul Islam, 35, said a section of the area had subsided slightly during the dry season, but no work was carried out.
Water Development Board officials visited the site on Tuesday morning after receiving reports of the erosion.
“We have taken necessary measures to prevent further erosion by placing geobags and are monitoring the situation round the clock. We hope to bring the erosion under control soon,” Rakibul Hasan said.