Over 7 lakh marooned, aman, seedbeds, fish enclosures hit

A man with his kid on shoulders and domestic animal in lap wades through flood-hit Sora village in Gabura union of Satkhira district, right, people displaced by flood have taken shelter on a road in Keshabpur upazila of Jessore.Photo: STAR

Heavy rain during the last couple of weeks triggered flash flood in Khulna, Satkhira and Jessore districts, marooning at least seven lakh people.
Flood has damaged over 200 educational institutions, aman plants, seedbeds and vegetables on over one lakh acres of land and washed away several thousand shrimp enclosures in the districts, reports our staff correspondent in Khulna.
A large number of people have taken shelter in makeshift camps set up at schools, madrasas and high lands and on the corridors of government offices.
Apart from severe crises of food, shelter and safe drinking water, waterborne diseases have broken out in the waterlogged areas of the three affected districts.
According to upazila chairmen and UNOs of Dakope, Dumuria, Paikgacha and Koyra of Khulna district, Tala Sadar, Kalaroa, Debhata, Assasuni and Shyamnagar of Satkhira district and Monirampur and Keshabpur of Jessore district, many people in the affected areas have been suffering from diseases like diarrohea, pneumonia and typhoid.
Our Satkhira correspondent reported that flood situation in Tala, Kalaroa, Assassuni and Sadar upazilas further worsened yesterday as water from rain-fed Kobadak and Betna rivers overflowed the banks and submerged fresh areas in the upazilas.
At least 3.5 lakh people of 1.2 lakh families have been made homeless in the district as flood has destroyed their thatched houses, official sources said.
The affected people have taken shelter in schools, colleges, madrasas and on high lands.
Diarrhoea and other intestinal diseases have broken out in the flood-hit areas. Over 253 patients were admitted to Satkhira Sadar hospital and upazila health complexes.
Besides aman plants, flood has damaged roads, bridges, culverts, embankments, and educational institutions.
The affected people have been facing acute scarcity of food, medicines and pure drinking water as the authorities concerned are distributing inadequate relief materials among them.
While visiting the flood-hit areas in the district yesterday, Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzak said the flood situation in Tala, Sadar and Kalaroa upazilas is more serious than he was apprised of before.
The minister told the affected people that the government would solve the water logging problems by re-excavating the Kabodak and Betna rivers.
He assured the flood victims of supplying adequate relief materials in the affected areas. The minister also said the government will take up post-flood agricultural rehabilitation programme so that farmer can cultivate aman and other crops.