Ehsanul Haque Jasim :Although thousands of flood-hit people in country’s 24 districts are in need of relief materials, it seems that their cries have not reached the administration and the local MPs. Many allege that the MPs are heedless of the flood victims’ suffering. On the other hand, the administration has only paid lip service to the victims.The prolonged flood caused widespread devastation. It has washed away many houses, ponds and fisheries in several districts, while the flood has damaged agriculture land, and made the farmers pauper. River erosion has caused panic among people in several parts of the country. Locals say that the MPs are almost absent in the flood-affected areas. They have not paid visit to their respective areas till now. They are staying in Dhaka. They have not taken any effective measures to alleviate the sufferings of the flood victims in the northern, northeastern, northwestern and central regions of the country. However, the flood-hit victims are still waiting for relief, dry food, pure drinking water and medicines though the flood situation started improving with recession in water levels in the major rivers across the country. According to the Flood Forecast and Warning Center (FFWC), the flood situation is improving and it may continue. It slightly improved in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur Jamalpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, Manikganj, Rajbari, Munshiganj and Shariatpur on Wednesday, but peoples’ sufferings continue. Md Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, Sub-Divisional Engineer and Duty Officer of the FFWC told The New Nation, that the Brahmaputra, the Jamuna, the Padma, the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers were on falling trend which may likely to continue for the next 72 hours. The overall flood situation may likely to improve, he said. According to the FFWC official, the water level in 12 river stations marked rise, while 71 stations recorded falls on Wednesday. Among the 85 monitored water level stations, a river station has remained steady, while 18 stations have been flowing above the danger level. In Kurigram, although the water level in the rivers was on falling trend. The Brahmaputra was flowing above 8 cm danger level at Chilmari point on Wednesday. The affected people of all the nine upazilas of the district are in miseries. The victims have been suffering from acute shortage of food, drinking water and fuel oil. Although local administration has distributed relief materials among the victims, the relief is too little to meet the demand, said the locals. On the other hand, the owners of cattle in the flood-affected areas find no grass to feed their livestock. The waterborne diseases are also spreading in several parts of the district. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said that standing T-Aman on 23,295 hectares of land and vegetables on 150 hectares have been damaged in the district. There are four constituencies in the district. It has been alleged that the MPs are not visiting their respective constituencies and standing beside the flood-hit people. In Gaibandha, many flood-hit people didn’t get any relief materials from the government or any other organisation. Deputy Commissioner of Gaibandha Abdus Samad said that they had distributed rice and money in cash among the flood victims. The locals, however, said that it was too little considering the need. Although the Ghagot River was in falling trend. New areas under five unions of Gaibandha Sadar and Fulchari upazilas went under floodwater due to damage in the flood control embankment. The embankment collapsed at Gotharhat under Khulahati union of Sadar upazila on Tuesday morning. Many ponds and fisheries have been washed away and thousands of acres of cropland went under floodwater. The MPs of the five constituencies in the district are hardly seen in the affected areas. They are staying in Dhaka. Md. Abul Kalam Azad of Gaibandha-4 constituency said, they are trying to help the flood-hit people.Meanwhile, sources of the DAE said that T-Aman, vegetables and betel leaf crops on 38,661 hectares of land were submerged anew in Kurigram and Gaibandha under Rangpur Agriculture Zone alone. In Lalmonirhat, at least 20,000 families along Teesta and Dharla river shoals in the district have been affected by the flood. The affected people are crying for relief. They have been given some rice and money in cash from a relief fund but that was meager. An MP said that they didn’t get any special relief allocation from the ministry. So, they did not visit the flood-affected areas properly. In Rangpur, Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, Speaker of the Parliament Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chawdhury, State Minister for LGRD Moshiur Rahman Ranga, H.N. Ashequr Rahman, Tipu Munshi and Abul Kalam Md. Ahasanul Hoque Chowdhury are the MPs of six constituencies of Rangpur. The MPs are staying in Dhaka. In Bogra, several thousand families in Sariakandi upazila and some other parts of the district have been affected in the flood. Hundreds of families in Sariakandi, Sonatola, Dhunut and Sherpur upazilas have been waiting in vain for weeks for relief materials. The district administration allocated several tonnes of rice for the affected families, but it was insufficient. The victims alleged that they were not getting adequate food, drinking water, fodder for animals, and medicines to protect them against water-borne diseases. The flood has also damaged crops, especially vegetables. The overall flood situation is improving in the district, but river erosion is continuing in some parts of the district. The activity of MPs was not seen in the flood affected areas. In Sirajganj, floodwater submerged vast low-lying areas of district, leaving thousands of people marooned, snapping road communication and damaging crops and houses. Inrush of water from upstream and heavy rainfall have swelled the Jamuna River inundating many fresh areas in the district. However, the flood hit people still suffering for shortage of dry food and pure drinking water.
