Over 3,000 people still homeless

About 3,000 people affected by Aila in Dakope and Koyra upazilas have been living on embankments as refugees for nine years since the cyclonic storm that hit the country's southwest region on May 25 in 2009.

Localities badly affected by Aila are Kamarkhola and Sutorkhali unions in Dakope upazila and Uttar Bedkashi and Dakkhin Bedkashi unions in Koyra upazila.

People of the four unions are still suffering from want of jobs, medical facilities and dwelling houses. Many people do not have access to drinking water as there is no sweet water in the area and tube-wells are out of order. They have to depend on pond water, which causes different water- borne diseases.

Kulsum Begum, 63, has been living with her family of four on Nalian embankment for eight years. Her husband Abdul Bari, who earlier worked as a day labourer, does not have any work for the last few years due to his old age.

His six bighas of land were eroded and his homestead was destroyed by Aila. Since then, his family has been living on the embankment with others.

Khaleda Parvin of Nalian village under Dakope upazila said she has to fetch pond water for her four-member family from a madrasa pond at Sutorkhali, four kilometres from her house. It is too troublesome to carry a full pitcher from so far away in the hot weather, she added.

“The government is supplying electricity from one place to other. Why do they not take initiative to supply drinkable water?” Khaleda asked.

Like Khaleda's family, thousands of people have been suffering due to lack of drinking water. People of the upazila used to collect sweet water from nearby ponds, but almost all ponds were inundated by saline water after the cyclonic storm.

Abdur Sattar, 77, of Paschim Srinagar, said the people of Kamarkhola and Sutorkhali unions have migrated to other areas, looking for jobs as they have no facilities for work here.

“The land has remained barren after Aila hit as vegetables or paddy cannot be cultivated due to saline water. It can be used only for shrimp farming, but virus attacks in recent years spoiled it all,” Sattar added.

Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) Chief Executive Hasan Mehedi said the coastal embankments are still weak, making the locals vulnerable to tidal surges.

Mehedi is working for the Aila victims and development of their livelihood.

“Influential quarters have been breaching the embankments to allow saline water to enter their shrimp enclosures as the authorities concerned are not active to resist them,” said Mehedi.

He said the government can allocate khas lands for the people living on embankments and provide them with easy loans to construct homes and for their rehabilitation.

As per statistics of the upazila administration, Aila damaged 25,067 houses totally and 8,349 houses partially in Dakope upazila, and 23,820 houses totally and 18,620 houses partially in Koyra upazila.