BETTIAH, July 23 -- Several residents dwelling along the banks of the Gandak river at erosion-hit Narhwa village in Madhubani block, about 65 km from Bettiah, headquarters of West Champaran district of Bihar, have begun dismantling their houses to salvage construction and other reusable materials fearing the river would claim them. To prevent the river from washing away the complete structures, villagers demolished their houses and stacked bricks, doors, windows, hand pumps, stone chips, hay, bamboo, and other wooden parts onto over a dozen tractor-cum-trolleys engaged in ferrying the materials to safer places on Wednesday. Nardeshwar Yadav, 32, a resident told Hindustan Times that he and his family had to demolish their house to save whatever little reusable material they could. "We have stacked the bricks and other reusable material of the house in safer places and taken shelter at our relatives' house for the time being," he said. Another local, Harilal Yadav, 40, said, "About five years ago, my father built this house with his hard-earned savings. Today, we are being forced to demolish it. Rather than watching it collapse, we thought it was better to salvage as much construction material as possible. No one knows when the Gandak will swallow it." Krishan Yadav, village headman of Sisayi panchayat said, "This year is no different. The swollen Gandak has begun causing erosion fast and about 20 houses are facing the threat of being engulfed by the river as it swells following heavy rainfall in the area. Therefore, the villagers have taken to dismantling their houses." Disaster management officer Nagama Tabassum said, "Last year, 135 dwellings, a majority of them huts, were affected by the erosion caused by Gandak in Sisayi panchayat alone. We have identified vulnerable spots and anti-erosion work has also been done. We are acting as per reports pouring in from the spot."...