Flood-hit people cry for relief
Flood-affected people of Sadar upazila in the district are suffering immensely due to acute shortage of food and relief materials.
Office Assistant of the District Relief and Rehabilitation Office Abul Kalam Azad said a total of 3,50,000 people of 1,02,750 families in 200 villages under 35 unions of five upazilas have been registered as flood-affected people. The government allocated only 242 tonnes of rice, which is being distributed among 24,200 affected families, with each family getting 10 kg of rice, he added.
Fulo Bewa, 80, a widow of Dharla river char Boalmari, has taken shelter on the Water Development Board (WDB) embankment in Kurul area of Mogholhat union. She has been half starved since Friday, she said.
“I got two packets of khichuri, a loaf of bread and a half-kg packet of gur, muri and chira,” she said.
Fulo's daughter Safia Begum, 58, who has also taken shelter on the embankment, said, “We did not get any government relief till Wednesday.”
Nazrul Islam, 55, son of late Sekandar Ali of Dharla river char Kharuya, said he got ten kg of rice on Wednesday, which is insufficient for his six-member family, adding that two of his four houses were washed away by floodwater.
Anowar Hossain, 48, said he did not get any relief, so he and his family have been passing their days in hardship on the WDB embankment since Saturday. “Only twenty percent of the affected families got government relief, while the rest eighty percent are still without help,” he said.
“We have not been able to study for the last seven days as our textbooks and khatas got wet by floodwater,” said Ruma Akhter, 11, a student of Class V and daughter of Ramzan Ali of Char Kulaghat village. “My two textbooks were washed away by floodwater,” said Ruma's younger brother Sabuj Islam of Class IV.
Deputy Commissioner Shafiul Arif told this correspondent that the allocated rice is being distributed among badly affected families, and all other affected families would be given relief materials soon. “I have written a letter to the ministry concerned, seeking more relief materials. I hope the ministry will allocate it shortly,” Shariful said.
“Floodwater is receding from the affected areas. Affected people of Teesta river basin have gone back to their homes, while the Dharla river basin people are still in their temporary shelter on the WDB embankment,” said WDB's Executive Engineer Krishno Kamol Sarker. He expected that all the affected people would go back to their homes in a couple of days.
Around 200 Indian flood-hit people from Jaridharla, Daribash and Nagortari villages in Cooch Behar district took shelter at Mogholhat border on Saturday night and Sunday morning. They went back on Wednesday as floodwater has started receding from their homes.
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