Goalpara (Assam), July 17: In Assam's Goalpara district, 65-year-old Sahadut Ali Sheikh and his family are now living in a small makeshift tent near their original house after he lost his house and land due to erosion of the Brahmaputra river.

Sahadut Ali Sheikh, a resident of Muamari village in Assam's Goalpara district, has lost his house and land due to erosion of the Brahmaputra river. He now lives in a small tent near the Brahmaputra River.

"The Brahmaputra River swallowed all - my own house, land and croplands. Now my family is living under this makeshift tent. The government does not allow us to construct houses on embankments. Where will we go? Now we are living near the river. My sons are daily wage labourers. We have no land. Our original house is now in the middle of the river. 10-12 days ago, the river swallowed our home," Sahadut Ali Sheikh told ANI.

He further said, "We have no future now. If the government will help us, then we will live, otherwise, we will face more hardship in the near future. We can't buy new land to construct a new house, because we aren't in that position. I have three sons and all are daily wage labourers. During recent flood, we also faced massive problems. We were forced to live here in 5-6 feet of deep water during the flood."

Khursida Khatun, the daughter-in-law of Sahadut Ali Sheikh, told ANI that their house was damged by the river 10-12 days ago, and now they have no permanent place to live.

"During the flood, the government had given us some relief, but it is not sufficient for us. We live here by eating only once. I have only a girl child and we can't think about her future in this situation. My husband is a daily wage labourer and he also can't go outside to search for work during this flood situation. We have no other income source. If we will not get any land to live, how can we care for our child and her future?" Khursida Khatun said.

Sahruf Hussain, a resident of the village, said that many people have lost their homes and many of them left this area for other places.

"Earlier, the Brahmaputra River swallowed many villages, Mosques, temples, school buildings as well. Nearly 500 families in this area have been affected by river erosion and flood," Sahruf Hussain said.

Bikram Ravi Das, a resident of Muamari village, also said that many villagers had already left this village due to river erosion and flood.

"The local MLA didn't visit this area or help us. Many people are still breaking their houses and ready to go to other, safer places. Recently, nearly 200 houses have gone due to erosion. People are suffering lots of problems here," Bikram Ravi Das said.

The soil erosion is still continuing in parts of Goalpara, Barpeta, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Kamrup and Morigaon districts.

According to the Assam government, the state has lost more than 4.27 lakh hectares of land due to the soil erosion of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries.

The flood situation in Assam remains grim, with the death toll rising to more than 90 as per the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). More than 5 lakh people across 18 districts are reeling under the deluge, with Assam's Cachar being the worst-hit district.

(ANI)

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