Erosion by the Madhumati and Nabaganga rivers continue to wreak havoc at different villages under Lohagara and Kalia upazila in Narail, rendering at least 1,000 people homeless in the last two weeks. About 500 dwelling houses at 20 villages under the two upazilas have been devoured during the period leaving around 1,000 people homeless, according to sources at union parishads concerned. Besides, at least 1,500 acres of crop land have gone into the rivers, the sources said. The affected villages are Itna, Karfa, Mongolhata, Dholoitola, Ariara, Amdanga, Shiorbar, Kotakhol, Astail under Lohagara upazila and Mohajan, Ghosibaria, Kalagachi, Noagram, Suktogram, Chanderchar, Bendarchar, Gazirhat, Peroli and Bisnopur under Kalia upazila. Most of the erosion victims have taken shelter on embankment, high land and in the houses of their relatives at neighbouring villages, local sources said. During a visit to erosion-hit areas, our correspondent found that a good many people were preparing to move to safe places along with their belongings. Some erosion victims said they had tried to protect their areas from erosion on their own by dumping sands, piling of bamboos and timbers along the river banks, but all efforts went in vein due to strong current of the rivers. Every year, a vast track of cultivable land and a large number of dwelling houses are devoured by the two rivers, locals said. Bordia Bazar, once a big market place in Lohagara upazila, has been reduced to nearly half in the last five years due to river erosion. Only seven years ago, more than 600 families used to live at village Kalaghaci-Ghosibaria under Kalia upazila but now the number of families has come down to almost half. Some local people said they had urged the authorities concerned several times in the past to construct embankment to protect their areas but no steps are yet to be been taken. The executive engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, Narail Md Delwar Hossain told New Age that they had submitted a project proposal for building erosion protection embankment along the banks of two rivers.