Bangladesh, Sept. 14 -- Fierce erosion by the Padma River has swallowed homesteads, farmland, and ancestral graves across the Char areas of Harirampur Upazila in Manikganj.

The river consumed the grave of Main Uddin Molla in Harihardia village under Lechraganj Union, leaving his grandson Jibon Molla and family grieving the loss of their final family landmark after losing their home and crops.

Relentless erosion has battered the union over recent years, washing away nearly 2,000 homes and thousands of bighas of arable land over the past four to five years.

Locals claim that over 100 homesteads in Harihardia, Selimpur, Joypur, and Haluaghat have gone under the water this year alone.

The river has also swallowed the four-storey Azimnaga...