Cyclone Remal: Coastal people reeling from heavy losses
Dipali Sardar of Gopi Pagla village in Khulna's Paikgacha upazila used to rear ducks.
Water entered her home on Sunday after Remal damaged a nearby embankment. Around 60 ducks were washed away and the hatching machine also went under water.
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"My family members and I went to a nearby road to save our lives. But I have lost my only source of income -- my ducks," said the 47-year-old woman.
Dipali's husband Pradip Sarkar used to work as a labourer at a local shrimp enclosure which has also been washed away. This has left Pradip unemployed.
"We don't know how we will survive," the woman told The Daily Star yesterday.
Like Dipali, hundreds of others of a dozen villages in Paikgacha are passing days in misery as the villages have been waterlogged for the last four days.
Out of the 22 villages under Deluti union, 12 have gone under water. As people cannot cook at homes, their relatives from faraway places are bringing food for them.
Some villagers have moved to their relatives' homes. Many families have taken shelter on embankments with their belongings.
A number of these villages have been without power for the last four days.
"Many families are now depending on food provided by relatives or other people," said Ramchandra Tikader, a member of Deluti Union Parishad.
Visiting Gopi Pagla area yesterday afternoon, The Daily Star found that several thousand people were working to repair an embankment.
Contacted, Ashraful Alam, executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Khulna, said, "The embankment was breached due to storm surges. We are trying to repair the embankment quickly."
In Pirojpur, people's houses and belongings were washed away. Homes were damaged after trees fell on them. Many were without food.
"We are mostly starving," said Golaynoor Begum of Dhepsabuniya village in Pirojpur's Indurkani upazila.
People are also facing an acute crisis of drinking water.
"When the storm began, we took shelter at a safe place nearby. My house was destroyed after a tree fell on it. I don't have enough money to rebuild the house," said Azahar Ali of Balipara village in the same upazila.
Abdul Wadud Molla, a resident of Auliapur village in Patuakhali Sadar upazila, said, "We have been without electricity since Sunday evening."
Water was entering villages along the embankments as those cracked during the storm.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to visit Patuakhali's Kalapara upazila today to distribute relief among the cyclone-hit people.
In Bhola, around 40,000 people were without electricity yesterday, said officials of the Rural Electrification Board.
Some low-lying areas in Sylhet were still under water yesterday.
In Barishal, at least 200 tonnes of rice was destroyed at a wholesale market in the city's Fariapatti area, due to rain and storm surges.
Our correspondents from respective districts contributed to this report.
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