(Andharmanik, Bangladesh) – On a humid but breezy August noon, Afsar Dewan was busy gathering what remained of his belongings from the bank of the eroding Padma River in Andharmanik village, central Bangladesh.

 

It was the third time since mid-2021 that the 72-year-old had been forced to relocate as the mighty Ganges – known locally as the Padma – continued devouring land at an alarming pace.

 

Rivers shift course over centuries, scientists say. But for the residents of Andharmanik, the Padma is rewriting the landscape in just a few years.

 

“My house was some two kilometres in that direction,” Dewan said, pointing toward the swirling, muddy waters. “Our mosque was somewhere over there, the primary school was that way,” he recalled.

 

“All is now gone.”

 

According to local councilor Sayedur Rahman, about 60,000 families have been displaced in recent years due to the Padma’s relentless erosion. Many, like Dewan, have been uprooted more than once.

 

“I have seen Padma’s erosion for years. But the last five years have been unbelievable,” Rahman said.

 

For those displaced by the river’s wrath, climate change is an unfamiliar concept. Instead, many attribute their suffering to divine punishment.

 

“Everywhere people are doing bad deeds – robbing, stealing, lying; Allah isn’t satisfied with us. Ergo, all these curses are falling upon us,” said Dewan’s wife, Amena Khatun, 64, tearfully as she packed her kitchen utensils.

 

- Beyond the Coastline - 

 

Sea-level rise and other climate crises are battering Bangladesh’s low-lying delta, especially along the coastal belt. But the problem is no longer confined to the coast.

 

Over the past few decades, more than 10 million people have left their coastal homes after losing land to erosion or seeing farmland rendered barren by salinity. Many have become “climate refugees,” seeking new lives elsewhere.

 

Every day, around 2,000 people arrive in the capital, Dhaka, according to the Mayors Migration Council (MMC), an advisory group that helps cities develop migration and displacement policies.

 

But retirees like Dewan often have nowhere to go, too exhausted to start over despite the devastation they face.

 

- Too Tired - 

 

Dewan remembers the night his life changed.

 

In March 2021, his home was first hit by river erosion, and chunks of his homestead disappeared underwater almost instantly.

 

“I lost four cows and my banana orchard. The family graveyard was also threatened. I spent a fortune to dig my parents’ graves and relocate them. But alas! In September, deep in the night, Padma took them away,” he said.

 

Once a fruit seller and childless, Dewan says he has no one to turn to.

 

“I don’t have anyone who could give me a roof over my head in Dhaka city. I would rather die trying, fighting Padma,” he said, frustrated. “I’m too tired to go elsewhere.”

 

Dewan and 35 neighbouring families are now living in makeshift shelters on a high school playground, just half a kilometre from the eroding bank. They have built temporary bamboo-and-tarpaulin shanties but remain “too tired to settle down,” as one resident put it.

 

Rahman, the councilor, warned that even their temporary refuge is at risk.

 

“The way Padma is gulping the land, if it continues, God forbid, the school ground will not last till the end of September,” he said.

 

- A Losing Battle - 

 

Harirampur administrator Saiful Islam said authorities are trying to save the riverbank using geo-bags filled with sand.

 

“But it is often impossible to fight with this river,” he admitted.

 

The Padma has been flowing several inches above its regular level for months near Andharmanik, according to the Water Development Board.

 

“We are praying that may Allah save us from a flash flood. Or else everything will be wiped away,” Islam said.

 

Local climate activists have repeatedly called at global climate summits, including the COP conferences, for financial support for victims in remote areas who may not even understand the term “climate change.”

 

“It is for loss and damage which can support the climate refugees for rehabilitation,” said Sohanur Rahman, a prominent Bangladeshi youth activist.

 

For Dewan and Khatun, the dream is simple – to finally settle down.

 

“We are tired of roaming around. We want some peace and enjoy the rest of our lives,” Dewan said.

 

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