States » EastPosted at: Sep 24 2026 11:24PM


Bengal: Ganga river eats into Srirampur, leaves families staring at a void

Krishnagar, Sep 24 (UNI) The Ganga gave residents of West Bengal’s Srirampur in Malda district little time to save their homes as severe river bank erosion caused houses to collapse one after another into the swollen river, forcing several families to flee with whatever they could carry.
At least 12 families are reported to have lost their homes in the sudden erosion at Srirampur village under Gayeshpur gram panchayat in Nadia's Santipur Assembly constituency.
Furniture, stored paddy, clothes, household possessions, crops, students' books and vital documents were swallowed by the river within barely an hour.
The destruction unfolded amid heavy rain as a large section of the riverbank suddenly gave way.
Residents rushed to evacuate their homes, but the speed of the collapse and the strong current left them virtually helpless.
“We saw the bank breaking and ran to save whatever we could. But there was no time. The current took away everything,” said local resident Biswajit Biswas.
The scale of the disaster became apparent when a huge tree suddenly tilted towards the settlement.
Witness Sandhya Pramanik said residents were still trying to understand what was happening when the tree fell and houses began disappearing into the Ganga.
In one of the most alarming incidents, villagers pulled a pregnant woman out of her house only minutes before the entire structure collapsed into the river.
Money, valuables and essential documents, including papers kept for an upcoming marriage, were among the belongings that could not be recovered.
According to elderly resident Saikat Das, the river consumed the houses of several families in roughly an hour.
Villagers managed to rescue their cattle, but many children lost their books and families lost Aadhaar and other vital documents.
The latest erosion has revived long-standing anger among residents who claim that repeated appeals for permanent protection have yielded little beyond temporary sandbag arrangements.
“Every year the river takes away our land. Sandbags cannot stop this. We need a permanent protection system with wire cages and stone pitching,” residents said, warning that continued erosion could eventually erase Srirampur from the map.
The administration moved in after receiving reports of the disaster.
Santipur BDO Sabyasachi Roy visited the affected area and said tarpaulins and dry food had been arranged while a local school was being prepared as a temporary shelter.
He said the displaced families would be considered for rehabilitation under government norms and that the administration would discuss permanent anti-erosion measures with the irrigation department.
Chanchal Chakraborty, assistant chairman of the Santipur panchayat samiti, visited the site and assured the victims of assistance. He said the homeless families would be considered for houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and that the panchayat and block administration would help replace Aadhaar cards and other documents destroyed in the erosion.
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