Dhaka, June 27 -- The waters of the Jamuna River have rampaged through Sirajganj, swallowing homes, mosques, schools, and farmland, eating away at its eastern bank.

Two unions in the Char areas of Kazipur and Chauhali Upazilas have borne the brunt of the erosion, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) said on Saturday.

Over 100 homesteads, religious and educational institutions, trees, and crop fields have already been lost to the river, leaving riverbank communities sleepless with fear.

In Chargirish Char under Kazipur, union council member Al Amin Sarkar said the area once housed 500 to 600 families.

Some 150 had already relocated before the current bout of erosion; at least 30 more families had been made homeless in the past...