More than 20,000 people of 14 villages in Satkhira’s Assasuni Upazila are still marooned in saline water whipped up by cyclone Yaas in last May. Most of them left their homes last year when Amphan struck the coastal districts on May 20. After staying at flood shelters or other people’s houses for several months they again returned to their homes. Monsoon has arrived by this time and the sufferings they have been facing have increased manifold.
Nearly 20 thousand people in 14 villages under the Protapnagar union have been suffering the most as the cyclone caused damage to embankments of the Kholpetua and Kapotakkha rivers in the adjacent regions. Although the authorities repaired the damaged embankments in most areas, saline water is still inundating Protapnagar union as sea water still comes through the unrepaired breaches in Harishkhali and Bonnotola areas. The villagers are using makeshift boats as knee to waist-deep saline water inundate the area. The villagers said they had been travelling to far away places to collect potable water and many of them have contracted various waterborne diseases. The villagers who can afford it are migrating to nearby urban centers as the livelihood opportunities have shrunk turning the villages into fellow lands. All the villagers, especially women, children and the elderly are facing immense sufferings as even their toilets are remaining submerged.
Local farmers have lost agricultural production and are facing an acute shortage of fodder for livestock animals. People do not have enough space to accommodate them. Villagers have urged the government to solve the waterlogging problem permanently. The Water Development Board has started work on repair of embankments but the villagers need an urgent solution which should also be sustainable. Waterlogging in the region is not just related to heavy rainfall but also to extreme climatic events. A number of other factors like river siltation, coupled with a lack of drainage are adding to the overall increase in waterlogging in the area. The government should take a comprehensive plan to address the challenges.
