Bangladesh's rivers giving and taking life away

Reuters: The mighty rivers that give Bangladesh life are slowly taking it back again. With the monsoon rains yet to start, hundreds of families living along the banks of the Padma and other rivers are having to uproot themselves as the powerful waters erode their homes and land from almost under their feet.

…Rivers that offer millions of Bangladeshis a living as fishermen and merchandise carriers also pose a great danger, especially during the monsoon season and the onrush of floodwaters from their source, upstream in India.

Thousands of villagers are forced each year to migrate to higher ground or overcrowded cities after losing their homes and farms to erosion or floodwaters. Government officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) estimate at least 10 million people have been displaced in the past decade.

….Experts say a third of Bangladesh's coastline could be flooded if the seas rise one meter in the next 50 years, creating an additional 20 million displaced Bangladeshis -- about the population of Australia….

The Padma River in Bangladesh -- shot by Sayutee, who has generously released it into the public domain on Wikimedia Commons. Thank you, Sayutee