The continuous erosion of the Gomati River in Tripura has caused a dire situation for the people living along its banks. Some residents have had their homes swallowed up by the river, while others have their homes perched precariously on the edge.

The residents of Ward 8 of Melaghar Municipality under Sepahijala District of Tripura have been struggling with this problem for years, regardless of which political party is in power. The 20 families in this ward have been living in fear of losing their homes to the river.

The families are so poor that they cannot afford to rebuild their homes elsewhere.

The family members alleged neither the previous Left Front Government nor the incumbent BJP-led Government did enough to end the plight of the erosion-affected families.

During the Left Front government, three families were given boulders to help protect their homes from the river, but the remaining affected families were not given any help because of political reasons.

Demanding protection, the families staged protests and blocked roads in an attempt to grab the attention of the then-Left Front government to help them.

According to the distressed families, they ran from pillar to post and informed the administration about their plights several times after the BJP-led Government came into power in 2018.

However, the current government has not done anything effective to address their concerns, locals alleged.

“The BJP government placed boulders to protect agricultural land and villages like Garurband from erosion, but did nothing for the families living along the Gomati River”, one of the families alleged.

Of all the families in the affected Ward 8, the one that has been most affected by the river erosion is the family of Monir Hossain. The river eroded his home to the point where it is now perched on the edge of the bank. In the past, two of his homes had already been washed away by the river.

In view of the dire situation, the women members of the 20 families appealed to Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and Union Minister of State Pratima Bhowmik to help them protect their homes from river erosion