Villagers in Roumari upazila of Kurigram have set bamboo pilings through voluntary service on the bank of the Halhaliya river to protect themselves from erosion.

They are building 10 structures on one kilometre of the river bank in Dhanarchar Natun Gram area by piling bamboos to save themselves from erosion.

Locals said eight structures have already been built till now. The remaining two will be completed in the next three or four days.

Villager Mubarak Ali said around 5,000 families from Dhanarchar, Natun Gram, Diglapara and Charpara villages willingly came forward to protect various structures including homesteads, cultivable lands, schools, mosques, madrasas and graveyard along the river bank from erosion.

If the ten structures on the river bank are completed, erosion of Halhaliya can be prevented on a temporary basis, he said.

Nasir Ali of Char Diglapara village said erosion by the river has turned serious due to fall in water levels.

Despite repeated pleas, the authorities of Water Development Board, local administration and public representatives are yet to take any steps to prevent erosion, he alleged.

Finding no other alternative, they have come forward to build the structures on the river bank by pilling bamboos to save themselves from erosion, said Nasir.

Two weeks ago, the villagers started building the structures on voluntary basis to protect erosion by the river, said Aminur Rahman, a teacher from Char Kodalkati in neighbouring Char Rajibpur upazila.

Madrasa teacher Aminur Rahman said if the river erosion cannot be stopped at the moment, it will become more severe. As a result, there will be extensive damage to various homesteads, cultivable lands and orchards.

Sarabesh Ali, chairman of Jadurchar Union Parishad, said people in the four villages have been building the structures on voluntary basis to prevent erosion.

Roumari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Al-Imran said the villagers had almost completed the structures on the river bank to prevent erosion.

He will take immediate steps to build a permanent dam after talking to the authorities concerned, said the UNO.