Abandoned, left to starve

Sharmin Akhter and her husband salvaging the ravaged fences and wrecked tin roofs of what was once their home in Samitypara area of Cox's Bazar -- this is what this correspondent saw during his visit to the area yesterday.

The couple, along with their three children, has been surviving on a diet of white rice and salt for the last three days, after cyclone Hamoon devastated their house in the coastal district on Tuesday evening.

"We have not received any relief yet. We have no money and are merely sustaining ourselves on rice we borrowed from our neighbours. We cannot rebuild our house without aid from the authorities," she said.

Cyclone victim Abdul Kader said, "We need construction materials, but we don't have any money. We are now spending our days starving under the open sky."

The storm ravaged at least 300 homes of marginalised people in Samitypara, said Shaheen Imran, deputy commissioner of the district.

According to district administration reports, 37,854 houses were damaged in the cyclone. Of those, 5,105 were completely destroyed and 32,749 partially damaged, leaving 4.76 lakh people in distress.

Around 350 electric poles were broken, while 23 transformers were damaged in the natural calamity, cutting off electricity supply and mobile networks in Moheshkhali, Kutubdia, Chakaria, and part of the district town since Tuesday, the report added.

Upon visiting the district town and Moheshkhali, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman said the situation is much more severe than the authority had initially assumed.

"We have distributed Tk 50 lakh in the form of relief and construction materials, 50 tonnes of rice, 1,000 bundles of tins, and 5,000 packets of dry food. However, it is inadequate. More relief will be allotted to the cyclone victims," he said.

Meanwhile, Aisya Khatun, a cyclone victim from Samitypara, alleged, "People who were less affected received relief, but the ones who lost everything are getting nothing."