Moulvibazar Flood: Relief for victims scanty

With the overall flood situation in Moulvibazar remaining unchanged, thousands of people in the district's three upazilas have been suffering due to shortage of relief supplies.

In Sylhet and Bandarban, the flood situation improved slightly yesterday as water started receding from the low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre has warned that the rising Padma, Brahmaputra and Surma rivers might trigger flooding in the central part of the country.

Also yesterday, torrential rain caused water logging in different cities and towns, including Dhaka and Chittagong. People in Chittagong's hilly areas were living in fear of landslides due to incessant rain.

In Khagrachhari, two schools were vacated yesterday over fear of landslides.

Partially submerged homes in Kurbanpur area of Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar yesterday. Photo: Mohammad Ali Jinnah /Mintu Deshwara

Flood victims in Moulvibazar have been living in hardship as they lost their crops, vegetables, fish and domestic animals.

Deputy Commissioner of Moulvibazar Tofail Islam said a total of 2,65,369 people have been affected so far.

The flash flood damaged Aush crop on 1,200 hectares of land in the last two weeks, said Shahjahan Chowdhury, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension.

Moinul Hassan, a farmer from Kurbanpur area in Kulaura upazila, said although many flood-hit farmers were yet to receive any relief materials, a good number of local influential people received some.

Salma Begum, 65, a widow from Uttar Sadipur village in the same upazila, said she went to the union parishad building yesterday to talk to the chairman and members if they could give her some relief aid, but she found the entrance to the building padlocked.

“The flood has destroyed our paddy. We've no other source of income,” said Abdur Rahman from Kathaltoli village in Barlekha upazila. He also didn't get any relief material yet.

The victims demanded the government supply enough food, medicine, livestock feed and other relief materials to them.

DC Tofail said the district administration started distributing relief materials in mid-April when the haor areas were inundated in flood water. The administration gave away 950 tonnes of rice and Tk 32,50,000 to victims from mid-April till this week.

He, however, couldn't give the figure about the relief distribution in the last two weeks.

Azizur Rahman, chairman of Moulvibazar district council, said the relief materials were quite scanty given the big number of victims. A large number of farmers in remote haor areas didn't get any aid, he added.

He demanded the government boost the supply of relief goods and cash.

Bijay Indra Sarker, executive engineer of the Water Development Board (WDB) in Moulvibazar, said the overall flood situation remained unchanged yesterday.

The Kusiara was flowing 15cm above the danger level at Sherpur point.

BANDARBAN

The overall flood situation in different upazilas of Bandarban improved slightly yesterday. Local WDB officials said the Sangu and Mathamuhuri rivers were flowing below the danger level.

Touhidul Islam, secretary of Bandarban municipality, said they opened 11 shelter centres in different schools of the town. At least 600 families were staying there.

The district administration advised people not to leave the cyclone shelters during rain and asked those living on hill slopes to leave the areas vulnerable to landslides.

According to an estimate of the district administration, more than 1000 families live on the sides of hills.  

SYLHET

The flood situation in the district's nine upazilas improved slightly as the floodwater started receding. However, the affected people were still struggling to have pure drinking water and food, reports UNB.

Waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea, were spreading in Zakiganj, Bianibazar, Fenchuganj, Golapganj, Balaganj and Osmaninagar upazilas due to shortage of pure drinking water. People were seen cleaning their utensils and clothes with floodwater.

Sylhet Civil Surgeon Dr Himangshu Lal Roy said several medical teams were working to prevent spread of waterborne diseases.