Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
The flood situation did not improve in most of the districts, rather new areas in Jamalpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram and Bogra districts went under floodwater on Monday.
The flood-hit people in Nilphamari, Rangpur, Naogaon, Sherpur and Shariatpur districts are also facing immense sufferings for scarcity of relief materials. They are looking for dry food and pure drinking water.
Tens of thousands of people have been marooned in the flood. The water level in the Teesta, Dhorola, Atrai, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers was on rising trend on Monday also. So, the flood situation in the district may worsen further.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), the Brahmaputra, the Jamuna, the Ganges and the Padma rivers were on rising trend, which may likely to continue in next 72 hours.
Md Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, Duty Officer of the FFWC, told The New Nation that the flood situation in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Naogaon, Bogra, Sirajganj Pabna, Jamalpur, Tangail, Faridpur, Shariatpur, Rajbari and Munshiganj districts may further deteriorate. It may, however, remain unchanged in Satkhira district, he said.
According to the FFWC official, the Atrai was flowing 109 cm above the danger level at Baghbari, while the Kangsha was flowing 103 cm above the danger level at Jariajanjail, the Jamuna was flowing 58 cm above the danger level at Sirajganj, 57 cm above the danger level at Sariakandi and 43 cm at Bahadurabad and the Dharla River was flowing 30 cm above the danger level in Kurigram.
In Jamalpur, the flood situation further worsened on Monday, as fresh areas went under floodwater. Over one lakh people of Islampur, Dewanganj, Bakshiganj and Sarishabari upazilas have been marooned in the flood. About 20 thousands hectres of the Ropa Aman land also went under floodwater. The farmers fear massive loss. The river erosion has also taken serious turn in some areas in the district.
At least 86 educational institutions in the four upazilas have been closed. Many flood-hit people took shelter in many schools and colleges.
District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Abul Mansur Mohammad Abdul Hye said that 3500 families in Islampur, 1200 families in Sarishabari and 1095 families in Dewanganj were affected. He, however, said that 35 metric tones of rice among the flood-hit people in Islampur and 20 metric tones in Dewanganj upazila were distributed, while cash Tk. 1,50,000 was disbursed among the victims of river erosion in the upazilas. In Bogra, over 1600 hactres of Aman croplands under nine unions of Sariakandi upazila went under floodwater. The farmers will face a massive loss, as the newly planted Ropa Aman paddy is being damaged in the flood. Md Kamruzzaman, Agriculture Officer of Sariakandi upazila, said, if the water level in the Jamuna River continues to rise, the farmers would face more losses. He, however, said that the local administration opened flood control cell.
In Gaibandha, river erosion has taken a serious turn in the flood. Two hundreds families in the district have been rendered homeless due to the river erosion in the last two to three days. About 65,000 people in 67 villages under Sundarganj, Fulchari, Saghata and Sadar upazilas of the district have been marooned. Several parts of Gaibandha-Ragpur Road also went under floodwater. DC of Gaibandha Abdus Samad said that about 11 kilometers road has already been damaged. He, however, said that they are working hard to face the flood. Several flood shelter centres have been opened in the the flood-hit upazilas to help flood affected people. Ataur Rahman Sarkar Ata, Chairman of Ghuridoh Union Parishad, said he was yet to get any relief from the government. He also said that he contacted with district administration to provide relief in the locality.
In Kurigram,the floodwater inundated several hundred villages of all nine upazilas of the district. Thousands of people of 53 unions have taken shelter in cyclone centres and on embankments, but the flood victims are not happy with relief. Many people are facing acute crisis of food and pure drinking water, reports Our Kurigram Correspondent.
Chairman of Pachgachi Union Parishad Amir Hossain said 80 percent houses of his union were submerged by floodwater. He did not get any kind of assistance from any government and non-government agency. However, Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram Khan Md. Nurul Amin told Our Kurigram Correspondent that they had allocated 80 tones of rice for flood victims which would be sent to them soon.
In Lalmonirhat, about 200 villages have been affected in the flood for last several days.
Many houses and croplands also went under floodwater. About 20,000 people in Haibandha upazila have been marooned. Many people in the flood-hit areas across the district are facing suffering for crisis of dry food and pure drinking water.
In Sirajganj, several villages of the low-lying areas in the district have gone under floodwater, while the floodwater also inundated hundreds of hectares of Aman paddy and vegetable lands. Sirajganj DC Md Billal Hossain said, they are working hard to face the situation.
