Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
Hill tragedies in Rangamati and Khagrachori have been caused by heavy downpour stirred us to the depth moving us with gravest concerns. Horror strikes hills. ‘At least 130, including 4 army men, dead in a series of landslides in 3 districts; many still missing, painstaking rescue goes on; heavy rain, destruction of hills, trees caused the disaster Part of the Rangamati-Chittagong road collapsed in Manikchhari, some 6 km off Rangamati town, yesterday morning, killing four army men.”since 2007, at least 130 people, including four army men, have died in the hilly areas of Chittagong, Rangamati and Bandarban following incessant downpour. Scores more were hurt and many remained missing. Rescue operations were delayed due to bad weather, Workers salvage furniture from a house in Manikchhari of Rangamati after the area was hit by a landslide.’
The landslide happened due to destruction of hills and trees over the years. Hill leveling has made the hills risky, contributing to the disaster. ‘The Chittagong Hill Tracts saw over 300mm of rainfalls in the 24 hours till Monday morning. Chittagong alone experienced 222mm of rain during the same period. None of these areas has seen such rain in recent years. As a result, much of the low-lying areas of the hill districts went under water.’ According news reports:
Many people remained in their shanty-like homes at the foot of the hills risking their lives, despite warnings by the local administrations. The district administrations opened a number of makeshift shelter homes for people evacuated and rescued from some 20 landslide spots. The four army members died after being struck by a landslide from an adjacent hill while trying to clear a road in Rangamati’s Manikchhari around 11:00am yesterdayThe landslide pushed 15 army men down to around 30 feet, killing the four instantly, witnesses said.They are Major Md Mahfuzul Haque, Captain Md Tanvir Salam Shanto, Corporal Mohammad Azizul Haque and Soldier Md Shaheen Alam. Soldier Md Azizur Rahman remains missing. At least 10 more army men were injured, five critically, in the Rangamati incident, according to a press statement by the ISPR.I was standing a bit far as three workers and 15 army personnel were clearing the road. Suddenly a huge chunk of soil fell down and buried them instantlyGeneral Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq, chief of army staff, visited the spot and inspected the rescue operations. He expressed deep shock at the death of the army members. Reaz Ahmed, of the disaster management department, confirmed 107 deaths — 75 in Rangamati, 26 in Chittagong and six in Bandarban. However, around 10:30pm Monday, Rangamati deputy commissioner put the district’s death toll at 98. In Rangamati, which is the most affected district with over 6 lakh population, most of the victims are poor Bangalee and indigenous people living on the hill slopes.The victims include at least 39 women and 22 children.Army personnel recover a body of a fellow on Manikchhari-Chittagong road in Rangamati. An army team fell victim to a landslide there while clearing the road. Photo: Anvil Chakma, Sanjoy Kumar BaruaOf the 26 deaths in Chittagong, at least 22 people died in Rangunia upazila alone while the rest in Chandanaish.Ten of the victims are children and five are women..In the district’s Borbill of Moghaichori, two families were buried alive.Six bodies were recovered from under the mud, while two more remain missing. “The landslide was so huge that we had to use an excavator to recover the bodies,”.
We are deeply pained. It is high time to think about settlement patterns in hill districts. Construction of house over hill should not be allowed if it is dictated that it may spell disaster. This is high risk for the dwellers who rent out houses from the fake landlords grabbing hill land by force and fraud. They are hoodlums attracting the people to live in either in hill tops or down the hill. These miscreants blessed by high voltage local power and administration created death traps for the hill inhabitants for amassing huge resources. The curse of nature dawns upon the innocent not on those who have been causing damage to nature. So the administration backed by good governance should rehabilitate those who need to live in hill environment. Build low cost apartment for them without thinking to cut hill and hillocks. Remember Hill is the gift of nature. If hill is protected from non-ecological development intervention landslide may not happen. What we want is human governance.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Chittagong University)
