‘Landslide took away everything we had’
A two-decimal land at the bottom of a hill.
Momina Begum, a widowed 30-year-old from Juri upazila of Moulvibazar, has a small mud house there where she and her three children live.
At least, they used to.
In an aftermath of a downpour last month, earth from the bottom of the hill collapsed on her home.
"I ran out of my house grabbing my children to save our lives. But all of our household goods got damaged," said Momina.
"I lost my husband a year ago. I work so hard to keep my family alive. But amidst this struggle, I now have no roof over my head," she said.
A total of 49 families in Montoil area of Sadar Jaifarnagar union in Juri have been affected by this landslide. And yet amid such struggle, they haven't received any government assistance.
Julekha Begum, another widowed resident of the area, said, "The hill was completely destroyed! Different types of plants dropped on top of my house."
After the incident, Julekha went to a nearby shelter with her six children.
According to locals, heavy rain from June 16 to 20 caused such landslides on the hill. The incident caused great panic among the residents. Some of them had left the area for good.
Visiting the area recently, this correspondent found large mounds of soil on the side of the road from Sadar upazila to Phultala Road.
UP member Sirajul Islam said various areas of the union have been flooded.
"It wasn't possible to go to the landslide-affected area as I was busy distributing relief. However, a list of affected people is being prepared," he said.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sonia Sultana said the damage caused by the landslide in Bhajitila area will be looked into.
"If anyone has been harmed, we will take appropriate measures. If government relief does not reach there, we will arrange it. Besides, a shelter project is being implemented in Bhajitila area where more victims will be rehabilitated."
Abdul Karim Kim, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), Sylhet chapter, said many influential people invaded the government hills and built temporary houses on them to earn money by renting those out to poor people.
"They were aware of the repercussion, and still they cut hills regularly, causing the landslide. Local administration didn't take necessary steps either," he alleged.
"Strict law enforcement isn't the only solution to get rid of these issues. We need to implement our laws properly," he added.
Dr Narayan Saha, former head of forestry and environmental science department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said unsustainable land use and rampant hill-cutting are two major reasons behind hilly areas being vulnerable to landslides.
Contacted, Badrul Huda, assistant director of DoE in Moulvibazar, said, "We have zero tolerance towards hill cutting. We'll look into the issue and take necessary action."