Flood victims in north: A roof over their heads is all they need now
Sitting in a roadside garage near what used to be her home, Nasima Begum, 70, was seen trying to salvage whatever was edible from paddy she had stored earlier.
Her home in Chhatak upazila's Bashkala village washed away in the flood shortly after she had moved to a shelter centre. Meanwhile, her paddy rotted in the floodwaters.
"Even though I had sufficient paddy in my in-house storage, I had to spend two hungry days at the centre. Upon returning, I see I have become homeless too."
At least 25 homes in the village were completely destroyed in the flood, which was triggered by torrential rain in the northeast and India's Meghalaya.
Jomirun Begum, a mother of six, said, "We barely saved our children when the house began collapsing. We are now living in a makeshift hut on the culvert."
Speaking to this correspondent on Saturday, most of the villagers said they were well-fed as the relief provided by government and non-government organisations was sufficient. However, they are now in dire need of financial aid and rehabilitation.
For Faruk Ahmed, of Sufinagar-Jaoakara village in the upazila, the struggle is steeper due to his disability.
His only source of income is begging on the streets.
"Without help from others, I will not be able to keep the roof over my family stable," he told this correspondent.
His elderly mother Gulmala Bibi was seen taking care of his youngest child in a temporary shack they made for themselves.
Like them, thousands of people have become homeless due to the flood that began on June 15.
According to the district administrations in Sylhet division, 63 lakh people are affected so far. Of them, around 60 lakh are from Sylhet and Sunamganj.
In the division, 99,791 houses have been damaged. Of them, most people are poor and ultra-poor, and cannot afford to rebuild their homes now.
At least 1.3 lakh people are now living in 1,168 shelter centres, while thousands of others are living in makeshift shacks built on high grounds.
Kashmir Reza, president of Paribesh O Haor Unnayan Sangstha, said, "The government should bear the repair cost of all damaged houses and should also allot Tk 10,000 for each household that needs rebuilding."
The prime ninister allotted Tk 10 crore for 10,000 flood victims whose houses were damaged in Sunamganj and Sylhet.
Officials of the district administrations confirmed that the allocation was sanctioned from the Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund on June 1, and 5,000 families of each district will receive the money from today.
They said the funds were for home repair, purchases of household and educational materials, and other needs.
After several weeks, the people in Sylhet and Sunamganj were finally able to spend two days with clear skies till Sunday.
Visiting the upazila on Saturday, this correspondent saw many people drying whatever possession they could salvage -- paddies, straws, furniture, books -- in the sun.
Abul Hasnat, of the upazila, said, "My house and tea-stall were both flooded. But now that the sun is out after long, I'm being able to dry everything and clean up."
Due to favourable weather, the floodwater had further receded yesterday.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) and the Water Development Board (WDB), the Surma river was flowing 47cm above the danger level in Sylhet's Kanaighat at 9:00am yesterday, which is 17cm lower than it was on Friday.
The river was also flowing 63cm above the danger level in Sunamganj's Chhatak upazila -- 36cm lower than on Thursday.
The water level of the Kushiyara also went down 25cm at Amolshid point in Sylhet's Zakiganj and 24cm at Sheola in Sylhet's Beanibazar upazila since Saturday. It has been flowing at 59cm and eight cm above the danger level respectively.
The FFWC forecast also stated that the flood situation in the two districts will stay stable in the 24 hours till this morning.