Waiting for help

Tens of thousands of haor people are still waiting for food and other relief items to reach them.

The early flash flood first hit the country's north-eastern region late last month and continued to inundate more and more areas till last week, destroying almost all of the region's Boro crop.

In response, the government last week announced a relief programme for 100 days in the affected areas.

According to the Relief and Rehabilitation Department of Sunamganj, the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme will cover 1,50,000 families in the district. Each household is to get 30kgs of rice and Tk 500 per month.

However, the district administration is yet to finalise the list of the families, let alone start distributing the relief among all the affected people.

“They [authorities] are taking too long to start the distribution even as the flood victims are waiting for government support,” said Bindu Talukdar, member secretary of Haor Bachao Sunamganj Bachao Andolon, a platform that campaigns for the rights of the haor people.

Also, the amount of relief sanctioned is inadequate.

According to the district administration data, there are 2,77,188 farmers in Sunamganj. The Department of Agriculture Extension puts the number even higher -- at 3,31,316.

This means the government programme will cover nearly half or less than half of the affected families.

Sunamganj has been the worst-hit, other affected districts being Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Netrakona, Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria.

In Sunamganj, all of the 266 haors submerged. Government estimate shows the district lost 6 lakh tonnes of Boro output.   

“We demand that the government distribute relief among all the affected farmers. Also, the government should consider giving at least 50kgs of rice and Tk 1,000 per month,” said Bindu.

District Relief Officer Mahbubur Rahman said the list of the families was almost complete and people in some areas were already getting the relief.

However, the relief distribution will begin in full swing on Sunday when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to visit the area and launch the relief distribution, he added.

He also downplayed the concern over a fair distribution.

On Wednesday, local lawmaker Peer Fazlur Rahman Misbah and reserved seat MP Shamsunnahar Begum told reporters that many families were left out of the list.

OMS RICE, FLOUR

Another government support comes in the form of Open Market Sell, from where people can buy rice and flour at a low price.

Though the allocation of rice and flour at the OMS outlets in Sunamganj has been doubled over the past few days, the affected families in Sylhet are finding it difficult to buy rice or flour from the OMS points.

Hushna Begum, 55, from Borodool village under Tahirpur upazila in Sylhet, went to the sadar upazila to buy rice from an OMS outlet early in the morning yesterday.

She woke up before the sun rose, drank a glass of water and headed for Tahirpur.

Hushna, a poor woman with an eight-member family, spent Tk 25 to reach there. When she spoke with The Daily Star around 11:00am, she was standing in a long queue, still waiting for her turn.

Her serial number was 665.

“I am not sure if I will get some rice. If I do, I will go home and cook it for my folks,” she said, adding that she was tired of standing for so long.  

Dozens of men and women had a similar story to tell.

Many of those who managed to buy some said it was not enough for their families.

The local administration says up to 400 people can buy rice and another 200 can buy flour from each of the three OMS centres at Tahirpur upazila every day.

Jagadish Roy, an OMS dealer at Tahirpur Bazar, said they could not sell more than the government allocation -- 5kgs of rice or flour for each.

Tahirpur upazila Chairman Kamruzzaman Kamrul said 23 haors in the area went under the floodwaters, affecting some 2.5 lakh people.