When rivers swallow land: Bangladesh's endless battle with erosion

On an overcast morning, Nurun Nabi loads bamboo poles and tin sheets onto a wooden boat. His home, built just a year ago on a fragile island in the Brahmaputra River, is on the verge of being swallowed by water.

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It is the second time the farmer and father of four has had to move in a year.

"The river is coming closer every day," Nabi said, his voice tight with exhaustion. "We are born to suffer. Our struggle is never-ending. I've lost count of how many times the river took my home."

Nabi, 50, has no choice but to move to another char - a temporary island formed by river sediment. His rice and lentil fields are already gone, claimed by the advancing current of the Brahmaputra, which originates in the Himalayas and flows through China and India before reaching Bangladesh.

"I don't know what awaits us there in the new home," he said, looking towards the wide brown river. "If I'm lucky, maybe a few years. If not, maybe a month. This is our life.'

Land that disappears overnight

Every year, hundreds of families in northern Bangladesh's Kurigram district face the same fate. As riverbanks collapse, people lose not only their homes but also their land, crops, and livestock. The Brahmaputra, Teesta, and Dharla rivers once lifelines for millions have become unpredictable, eroding land faster than ever before.

The chars sandy, shifting islands scattered across the country's northern plains are among the most fragile places in Bangladesh. Families rebuild again and again, only for the river to take everything they have.