Landslide victims wait for relief
The disaster-hit people living in the remote hilly areas of different upazilas in Bandarban were yet to get relief items until yesterday due to collapsed communication system.
The Union Parishad chairmen started collecting relief items from upazila offices and government food storages yesterday afternoon after road communications in the district resumed early yesterday with the rain water receding.
The relief would be distributed among those affected from today in most of the areas, officials said.
Meanwhile, death of one more person named Lyang Plang Mro, 32, at remote Raiopara of Dochhari Union under Naikhyangchhari was reported yesterday. With this, the death toll on mudslide rose to 37 in Bandarban district -- 27 in Lama upazila and 10 in Naikhyangchhari -- since Tuesday night.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shamim Sohel of Naikhyangchhari could not give the actual date and time of the death of Lyang Plang. “Raiopara is usually a three-day journey from the upazila headquarters. So we couldn't get the news earlier,” he said.
Because of the inclement weather, mobile communication and electricity connections were snapped in most areas of the district.
Yesterday, Bandarban district administration allocated 45 tonnes of rice and Tk 14 lakh cash from its own fund for the 12,125 families of all the seven upazilas under the district who suffered from inundation and landslide.
A total of 47,077 people have been affected by the flash flood and mudslide, driven by incessant rains, since Sunday. As many as 433 people were injured due to the natural disaster, says the district administration.
The 2,500 flood-affected people of the Bandarban municipality who since Monday took immediate shelter at 19 government camps, mainly schools, started returning to their homes yesterday afternoon as the flood situation improved.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) KM Tariqul Islam said it took time to get the actual figure of the victims and deaths as the communication between the district and different upazila headquarters remained snapped until Wednesday evening.
The ground floors of many government offices including the UNO offices in Lama and Naikhyangchhari remained under water.
He claimed that they were prepared for the inundation that takes place regularly due to rainfall. “From the beginning of the heavy rainfall, the district administration took cautionary steps and urged the people to take shelter.”
But the landside caused havoc in the remote hilly areas, said the DC.
Meanwhile, the district administration formed a five-member probe body led by Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) Foyez Ahmad to find out the reason behind the landslides.
Naikhyangchhari UNO Sohel said reaching relief items to the Union Parishad chairmen was under process. “We are trying to reach the relief through boat as road communication still remained disrupted with many remote areas,” he said.
Shamsul Alam, chairman of Faitong union under Lama said he collected one and half tonnes of rice as relief from the government food storage yesterday afternoon. The relief would be distributed among the affected people this morning by the local MP.
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