M M Jasim :
Tota Miah, a resident of Mahmudpur union in Melandah upazila of Jamalpur district, along with other four family members have been living under the open sky as their dwellings washed away by floodwater.
“The flood water has damaged my house and corps. I have nothing to survive. I have to wait for relief every day. I have also no money to build a house and to buy food for my family members,” Tota Mia told The New Nation on Saturday evening.
Santosh Sheikh has been living in a tin-shed house at Kulia union of Melandah upazila under Jamalpur district for about 15 years. The flood devastated one-third of his house.
“I am a wage earner. I have no land to cultivate. I do not know what I will do. It is totally impossible to rebuild my house,” Santosh Sheikh said.
“We are living in the open sky. There is no help yet from the government to rebuild our house,” he said.
Like Tota Miah and Santosh Sheikh, thousands of displaced people in about 20 districts are passing their days under the open sky with untold miseries and sufferings for the lack of food and safe drinking water.
They are being attacked with water-borne diseases due to lack of safe drinking water.
The Department of Disaster Management sources said the floods have completely damaged 54,682 houses and some 637,433 partially in the 20 districts.
Some 322,000 people have taken shelter at 1,330 centres in the districts, while many are living in the open spaces or on school premises.
Crops cultivated on 14,177 hectares of land were completely damaged while crops on another 594,134 hectares partially destroyed, leaving farmers and their families in great trouble.
More than eighty lakh people have been affected, directly and indirectly, and waiting for more government relief.
According to the Department of Disaster Management, the government until Thursday allocated 22,646 tonnes of rice and Tk 91,687,500 as relief aid for eight million people. Hence, the allocation stands at 2.76 kg of rice and Tk 11.21.
The victims said though the government is continuing relief activity, it does not benefit all the flood victims as many roads have been heavily damaged hampering relief distribution.
Jatrapur Union Parishad Chairman of Kurigram district Ayub Ali Sarker said, “We have distributed 43 tonnes of rice in my union. The allocated relief has already finished.”
“The food crisis in his union persists since the government relief and food supplies by other organisations and people were hardly sufficient. At least 3,000 families in the union were in dire need of emergency relief, he said.
The chairman also urged the government to provide cash, tin and other materials to repair and rebuild the damaged houses.
Shariatpur district Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Officer Md Belal Hossain said Tk 15 lakh in cash and 600 tonnes of rice along with 797 bundles tin sheets have been allocated for the flood affected people.
“We have already written to the higher authorities for more relief allocation,” he said.
Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Md Shah Kamal said: “The allocation of relief is being increased every day so that the people do not suffer.
“We have allocated another 2,000 tonnes of rice as relief while bundles of tin sheets are being handed over to the affected people,” he said.
