Three major rivers of the country---the Jamuna, the Ganges and the Padma---devoured 1,58,780 hectares of land, rendering about 20 lakh people homeless since 1973, a research organisation working with river and water resources said here on Wednesday.

At least 4kms of area and 1,000 bighas of cropland of Pakuria union in Bagha upazila went into the gorge of the river Padma in last two weeks as erosion by the river intensified during the monsoon this year.

The very old proverb 'Barind is a land whose name is written in water' seems to be true to its alphabets as without water, the existence of the vast Barind region under greater Rajshahi districts (Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Natore) is going to become extinct.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in addition to its earlier commitments, is considering more funds for the construction of the Padma Bridge.

Experts at a discussion here yesterday stated that massive siltation of the Padma river and its tributaries have triggered the flood tendency during the monsoon in the region.

Terming the monsoon flood as the main natural calamity in the region they said many people become victim of the disaster every year.

Bangladesh is a deltaic land. It is surrounded by Bay of Bengal on one side. It is also within the reach of Himalayan range. Three big and mighty rivers such as the Padma, the Jamuna and the Meghna flow through this plain land. So its geographical location has made Bangladesh too much vulnerable to natural calamities like flood, cyclone, earthquake, drought, erosion, etc.

Major rivers, including the Padma and the Jamuna, continued to swell Monday, disrupting ferry services and overflowing banks in some districts, where fresh areas went under water.
At least one death was reported as surging water inundated more villages and washed away parts of river banks, according to reports reaching from Manikganj and Faridpur districts.
Stranded vehicles stood in long queues for hours on the both sides of the Padma river as pontoons at Paturia-Daulatdia ferry ghats sank.

The flood situation of the country deteriorated yesterday as several rivers were flowing above their danger marks and a number of them continued to swell and burst their banks.

More low-lying areas of the country were flooded yesterday and the situation may worsen during the next few days.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) yesterday said six rivers were flowing above their danger marks at seven points and 38 other points saw rise in water levels.

More low-lying areas were submerged in Munshiganj yesterday due to water level rise in the river Padma.

Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre sources said the Padma at Bhagyakul point was flowing above 10 centimetres of danger level yesterday.

Three rivers Padma, Kobadak and Surma are now flowing above danger level, according to the FFWC.

Water level at Kanaighat point of Surma river have been flowing above 18 centimetres of danger level while it is above 40 centimetres at Sunamganj point.

Bangladesh is keen that India implement the Sankosh river water diversion project to give the former its due share of water from the Ganges as enshrined in the Indo-Bangladesh agreement. According to