People in Koyra start selling cattle, poultry birds

Tapos Kanti Das . Koyra, Khulna, NewAge, June 2, 2009

A good number of people in Koyra upazila, badly affected by the cyclone Aila, are forced to sell their cattle and poultry birds for meagre prices for want of animal fodder and poultry feed.
   

The cyclone Aila, which ripped through the southern coastal districts on May 25 triggering giant water surges, killed 41 people, 1,562 cattle and 1,200 poultry birds and damaged partly or totally more than 13,820 houses affecting 1,52,496 people of all the seven unions of the upazila, according to the upazila administration statistics.
   

The administration sources said that 50 thousand people had taken shelter at 61 shelter centres, while a large number of victims had taken refuge on embankments and roads, leaving their homesteads inundated by water whipped up by the cyclone and gushing through the breaches of embankments.
   

According to the upazila livestock department statistics, there are 50,000 cows, 1,200 buffalos, 9,000 goats, 5,000 sheep, 80,000 poultry birds in the affected areas of the upazila.
   

Relief workers said vast areas of the upazila were still under water and that there was a severe crisis of fodder and water for cattle which were forced to drink saline water dangerously polluted by decomposing carcasses.
   

There has been an outbreak of waterborne diseases not only in humans but also in cattle in the worst affected villages, said Abdul Majid, 45, of village Madinabad of the upazila. He has taken shelter on the embankment near his village and sold his only goat for Tk 800, the price of which would otherwise be almost double.
   

‘Taking advantage of the situation, traders are visiting us to buy cattle and poultry birds and we are selling the flocks for meagre prices as we badly need money’, said Amena Bibi, 45, of a village in Koyra.
   

‘There is a crisis of fodder and water for cattle in the affected areas and the marooned people need relief,’ said Dakkhin Bedkashi union parishad chairman Shamsur Rahman.
   

Khulna district livestock officer Obaidul Karim told New Age that the outbreak of animal diseases had not yet turned alarming and that the affected people were selling their cattle and poultry birds due to a severe crisis of fodder and safe drinking water as well as for money that they badly needed to buy food.

Govt won’t seek foreign aid for post-Aila relief, suspends realisation of agri-loans in affected areas

Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee, NewAge, June 2, 2009

The cabinet on Monday decided that the government would not make any appeal to the international community at the moment for aid for rehabilitation of the people affected by the cyclone Aila.
   

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, told the cabinet meeting that the government could tackle the situation on it own with domestic resources and would rather seek foreign assistance in construction of embankments and shelter centres in the disaster-prone coastal districts for a permanent solution to the problem, said a meeting source.
   

Photo: Focusbangla/NewAge

The meeting, held at the cabinet division, also decided to suspend realisation of agricultural loans from farmers in the cyclone-affected areas until further order.
   

The government will also request non-government organisations not to create pressure on the Aila-affected people to repay agricultural loans, food and disaster management minister Abdur Razzaque told New Age.
   

‘Natural calamities regularly visit the country. So the government will not seek any immediate foreign assistance to tackle the situation, rather we will seek their assistance in construction of embankments and cyclone shelters for a permanent solution…,’ Hasina was quoted by the food and disaster management minister as saying.
   

The prime minister also told the meeting that no government building would be constructed at ground level in the disaster-prone areas, meeting sources said.


Cyclone Aila struck the country’s south-western coast on May 25 battering 51 upazilas of 11 districts and killing 179 people by official count to date.
   

The meeting took a decision to repair the damaged embankments in the Aila-hit districts, the prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters. It also decided to keep open the disaster management control rooms at upazila level.
   

The cabinet assigned two ministers, one adviser to the prime minister, one state minister and the Khulna city mayor to oversee relief operation in the cyclone-hit areas, Azad said.
   

Health minister AFM Ruhal Haque will monitor relief activities in Satkhira, the prime minister’s economic affairs adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman and Khulna city mayor Talukdar Abdul Khalek in Khulna, while state minister for LGRD and cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak would monitor relief operation in Barisal and Bhola and state minister for religious affairs Shahjahan Miah in Patuakhali district.


 At the meeting, the prime minister asked the health minister to send more medical teams to the affected areas, sources said.
   

The meeting also reviewed progress of implementation of the decisions so far taken by the nearly six-month-old cabinet of Sheikh Hasina.
   

All the ministries narrated their activities and progress of implementation of the decisions taken by the cabinet after the Awami League-led government assumed office on January 6. Hasina expressed her satisfaction over the activities of the ministries.
   

Azad said a total of 124 decisions were taken in the 23 cabinet meetings held since January 7 till May 25 and of these 67 decisions had been implemented fully and 57 others were being implemented.
   

‘Drafts of 68 acts have been finalised. Of the drafts, 37 turned into laws through 32 bills in parliament. Eleven draft acts are waiting to be placed in the house through 10 bills and others are still under process in the ministries and departments concerned,’ Azad said.
   

Hasina asked all concerned to work sincerely to implement the cabinet’s decisions.
   

The army has been given the responsibility to construct and repair damaged embankments in three upazils – Swarankhola, Syamnagar and Asasuni. The cabinet asked the army to monitor the relief activities in other upazilas. Hasina asked the armed forces to brief their activities in the Aila-affected areas through ISPR, meeting sources said.

Dams repairs yet to begin in most of south

Staff Correspondent, NewAge, June 2, 2009

The emergency repair and reconstruction of flood-control dams and embankments breached by tidal surges, caused by cyclone Aila on May 25, are yet to begin in most districts in the south, even a week after the disaster that inundated large tracts of land.
   

Even the dams and embankments damaged by super-cyclone Sidr in 2007 were not repaired, which resulted in damage and inundation on May 25 that were far more severe than they should have been.
   

A total stretch of about 168km of flood-control dams was damaged completely and 1060km partially in nine southern districts, along with 296 sluice gates and other installations.
   

Sources in the Water Development Board said they have submitted a demand letter for allocation of Tk 650 core to the ministries concerned, but repair work is yet to be started as the fund has not been approved so far, reported our correspondent in Barisal.
   

WDB sources said the ministry had asked them to start repair work under the Food for Work programme as allotment of fund before the budget might not be possible.
   

Our correspondent in Patuakhali said the local office of the WDB has started repairing dams in several places of the district.
   

People marooned in the coastal districts said that more areas would be flooded if the dams were not repaired before the appearance of the next full moon.
   

Villages and croplands are being inundated by saline water during high tide. If they cannot be protected from saline water, cultivation of Aman rice might not be possible this season, said Fazlul Karim, a farmer of village Nachna Para in Kalapara of Patuakhali.
   

Another farmer of the same village said that they are suffering very much as they failed to reconstruct their houses because of the water that rushes into the villages during high tide through the breaches in the dams.
   

Md Zahirul Islam, executive engineer of the WDB in Patuakhali, told New Age that they have begun repair work in Lalua, Chakamoya and Khaprabhanga unions of Kalapara, Panpatti, Barabaishdia and Maudubi unions of Galachipa, and Kachipara, Dhulia, Kalaia and Keshabpur unions of Bauphal.
   

WDB sources in Barisal said the proposed repair and reconstruction budget of the dams and embankments damaged by Sidr had been reduced to Tk 725 crore from Tk 2,000 crore due to fund crunch. Later a Tk 180.84 crore project was approved by the World Bank which included construction, repair and rehabilitation of flood-control dams and embankments, but the project could not be implemented due to fund replacement crisis.
   

In such a situation the WDB’s zonal office in Barisal sought an initial sanction of Tk 131 crore to repair and reconstruct damaged dams and embankments in six districts of the division: Barisal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barguna, Bhola and Jhalakati
   Barisal WDB sources said that at least Tk 49.38 crore was needed for immediate reconstruction of at least an 8km stretch of dams, repair of 44km stretch of dams and 43 regulators.
   

If repair is not completed within June, monsoon rains and storms and astronomical tides would throw the situation totally out of control, they warned.
   The chief engineer of Barisal zone WBD, AKM Mokhlesur Rahman, and superintending engineer, Akhtar Alam, said it would take a much longer time to complete the repair work if allocation of fund was delayed.

Aila sufferings to last for months, Repair of damaged embankments to take long time

Wasim Bin Habib and Abu Ahmed, from Satkhira, The Daily Star, June 2, 2009

The survivors of cyclone Aila in Satkhira are unlikely to be relieved of their sufferings anytime soon as it will take several months to complete the repair works of the damaged embankments there.

Losing almost everything to Aila, a family waits for a launch at Burigoalini Launch Ghat in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira with a few household items and poultry as they start their search for shelter. Photo: Anisur Rahman

Although the authorities concerned began repairing small breaches in the dams, it might not be possible to repair the large ones before the end of the rainy season because of strong current, river erosion and shortage of spare earth nearby.

Moreover, the water level of the rivers will rise in the next full moon with a possibility of breaching the embankments again. The overall situation might take a serious turn in monsoon.

The inhabitants of Aila-hit Shyamnagar and Assasuni upazilas fear that further rainfall might create fresh cracks in the embankments.

The sufferings of the cyclone survivors who took shelter on the embankment at Shyamnagar increased further due to raining yesterday.

“We have lost everything. The rain even damaged our fragile shelter where I spent the last few days with my five family members. But now we have nowhere to sleep,” said Abdulla Biswas of Kalinchi village in Shyamnagar.

Many survivors have already started moving to safer places.

Lutfur Rahman, executive engineer of Division-1 of Water Development Board (WDB), told The Daily Star yesterday, “It will be quite difficult to repair the embankments in many areas especially at Gabura during the rainy season due to rise in water level by a few feet and strong current.”

“Giant waves will lash the embankment during the full moon within a week,” he said.

The executive engineer said the repair works of the small breaches at different points in the dam have already begun under the food for work programme.

Since the repair work will begin on full scale in the next winter, it would not be possible to complete the work before the next dry season, he said.

Lutfur said it took one and a half months to repair the breaches developed in September in the embankment at Gabura union last year.

He said of the embankment’s 377-kilometre area under his division, about 27 kilometres covering several unions of Shyamnagar upazila was completely destroyed while a 135-kilometre area of the dam was partially damaged.

“We need Tk 40 crore to repair the damaged embankments. We have estimated that around Tk 100 crore will be required for rehabilitation programme, protection from river erosion, reconstruction of the sluice gates and closures,” he said.

Lutfur said they have already sought for Tk 13 crore for the food for work programme.

Many inhabitants of Gabura, Padmapukur, Burigoalini, Munshiganj, Atulia and Ramzannagar unions under Shyamnagar upazila and several unions of Assasuni were seen repairing the small breaches in the embankment both voluntarily and under the food for work programme.

Sheikh Hazrat Ali, a resident of Gabura union, said if the embankment is not repaired immediately their remaining belongings will get washed away by strong tide during the full moon.

“We shall not be able to live on the embankment if it is not repaired soon,” he added.

Shafiul Azam Lenin, chairman of Gabura union, said it will be possible to repair the breaches covering an area of 21 kilometres within a week under the food for work programme.

But it would not be possible to repair the large ones without piling, he said.

Some inhabitants in the area blamed the shrimp farmers for the breaches in the embankment saying the dam got damaged at several points when water was pumped into their enclosures from the river.

Executive Engineer of WDB Division-2 AKM Mujibur Rahman Hawlader said around 3.9 kilometre area of the embankment in Assasuni upazila was washed away by tidal surge while another 98-kilometre area was partially damaged.

He said they have estimated that Tk 27.14 crore would be required for rehabilitation programme and another Tk 20.10 crore for protection from river erosion.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Satkhira Mohammad Abdus Samad told The Daily Star that they hope to complete repair of the small breaches within a week.

He also said the government has decided to repair the large breaches with the help of the army.

Asked about the fate of the affected people if the embankment is not repaired before the rains, he said, “We shall continue providing them with relief until they return home.”

“Many houses mostly the thatched ones were destroyed by tidal surge,” he said.

When asked whether they would help the survivors rebuild their houses, Samad said he has already requested the higher authorities to provide loans to the survivors.

Meanwhile, Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque told The Daily Star that they will start repair works of the damaged embankments on a temporary basis within 10 days.

But the permanent repair works will begin in October-November, he said.

An allocation of Tk 116 crore — Tk 41 crore in cash and 25,000 tonnes of rice — has been made for repairing the embankments immediately.

“We have instructed the authorities concerned to start the work across the country within 10 days,” he said.

The Army will also be involved in the work.

He said it will require around Tk 420 crore to complete the permanent repair works of the embankments expected to begin in October-November.

Razzaque said the affected people, who will do repair works, will be paid Tk 250 to Tk 300 each daily.