The croplands in haor areas of Kishoreganj, Sunamganj, Netrakona, Habiganj and Brahmanbaria get inundated due to the damage of embankments just before the harvesting of Boro paddy, intensifying their sufferings. President Hamid called upon the affluent section of society to stand by the affected haor dwellers to help them address their sufferings. Meanwhile, the President has also talked to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the overall situation in the haor region and the sufferings of the people living there. We believe that the helpless people need immediate help for survival and easy loan, seeds and other agricultural inputs to grow food at high land where possible. Moreover people would need health precaution support from water borne diseases once flood water will recede.
It is noticeable that embankments to protect haor areas built with crores of takas easily collapsed with the gushing of water for using poor quality construction materials. That type of corruption is prevalent in infrastructure buildings. It is also evident from the dilapidated schoolhouses in our coastal areas to the collapse of a part of the Moghbazar flyover in Dhaka itself. We are now using crores of takas to beautifying footpaths of Gulshan and Banani, but how can we save our haor people is nobody’s interest.
Flood is not anything new in the country particularly at the low-lying districts but early flood is largely unanticipated that hit the northeastern districts before the harvest season begins. Reports said some farmers have already died of heart attack seeing their crops washed away. But the question is why we don’t have strong embankments and early warning system when much of the floodwater comes from down pour in the hilly districts on Indian side of the border. In our view our flood protection system must be reviewed in the light of early flood in low-lying areas.
