Flood, erosion victims in Manikganj await succour

The River Jamuna turned furious during the recent flooding and devoured hundreds of homesteads in Manikganj district. The photo was taken from Charkatari village in Daulatpur upazila a few days ago. PHOTO: STAR

Flood affected people of Daulatpur, Shivalaya and Harirampur upazilas in the district have been passing their days in utter uncertainty.

Thousands of people of the areas lost their homesteads due to river erosion.

Following recession of the floodwater, the affected people are facing crisis of food and medicine. Besides, hundreds of vegetable growers of 25 villages in Singair upazila are counting huge loss as their vegetable gardens had gone under floodwater.

The district administration gave rice to a few flood affected family as government relief but it was too inadequate, flood alleged.

Around 500 families of Mandrakhola, Noyakandi, Jogotdia, Kazirtek, Baulikanda, Baghutia, Pachuria and Saljana villages of Arua union in Shivalaya upazila lost their homesteads to the Padma in the last 20 days.

Runa Akter, Tara Banu, Hatem Ali, Swadhin Majumdar of Mandrakhola villages said they were passing hard days in their makeshift houses on roads or highland. Many of them took shelter at their relative's houses and a few others at their neighbouring houses, they said.

They demanded rehabilitation and urged the government to take necessary steps to check river erosion.

Otherwise, more haat-bazars, schools, madrasas, mosques may go into the river Padma, they said.

More than 200 homesteads of Dhubalia village, Jafarganj High School and around 100 shops of Jafarganj Bazar went into river Jamuna this year. They did not get any help either from government or from any non-government body, they said.

Around 1000 families of Charkatari, Khalsi, Jionpur and Chak-Mirpur unions in Daulatpur upazila lost their homesteads due to erosion by Jamuna. They took shelter at neighbouring houses and facing food and medicine crisis.

Around 25 families of Ramkrishnapur union also lost their homesteads.

Meanwhile, hundreds of vegetable growers at 25 villages in seven unions of Singair upazila became helpless as their vegetable fields went under floodwater. They urged the government to give them cash and seeds.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Md. Abu Adnan said they were making a list of flood-affected farmers to arrange government support.

"We have also visited most of the flood affected and erosion hit areas of the district, said Rashida Ferdausy, deputy commissioner of Manikganj.

"We have already distributed government rice as relief," she said, adding that the administration will give further support after getting fresh allocation.