Eid festivities elude 2 lakh people in Tala upazila: 3-week long waterlogging, crop damage bring misery to them

The Daily Star, 24 September 2009

Eid-ul-Fitre, the Muslims’ greatest religious festival observed on Monday, failed to bring any cheer to around two lakh flood-affected people in Tala upazila as the agriculture-dependent people lost their standing crops and betel leaf plantations due to the waterlogging since September 5.

Same is the situation of the Hindu community people ahead of the Durga Puja.

The affected people are passing hard days due to acute scarcity of food, drinking water and medicines as rainwater and water from the River Kabodak entering the area cannot recede to the silted river.

With outbreak of diarrhoea, skin diseases and other intestinal diseases, a large number of patients have been admitted to Satkhira Sadar Hospital and Tala Upazila Health Complex.

Unprecedented water logging has also caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, culverts, educational institutions and dwelling houses, especially the thatched and earth-made ones.

Commuters are suffering due to suspension of road communication between Satkhira and Khulna as the road at Noapara on Satkhira-Khulna road in Tala upazila has gone two to four feet under water.

According to the district Relief and Rehabilitation Office (DRRO), about 2 lakh people of about 41,000 families have been affected and crops on several thousands acres of lands have been damaged as all the 12 unions in Tala upazila have been inundated.

A source in the DRR office, however, said they are yet to get the total estimate of losses.

As a group of journalists including this correspondent visited some of the flooded areas yesterday, the affected people said they are passing miserable days as the government is yet to come forward to mitigate their sufferings with relief supplies.

“We are almost fasting for the last two days,” said Sirajul Islam of Kashipur village in Tala upazila.

“Nobody has come to us with food,” Sita Rani Mondal, a flood victim of Raripara village in Kumira union, said.

Scarcity of drinking water is also prevailing there.

Tala Upazila Nirbahi officer Khan Reza-un-Nabi said 3,595 families have become shelterless as their kutcha houses were collapsed and they have taken shelter in makeshift houses beside roads and on high lands.

On contact, Satkhira Deputy Commissioner Md Abdus Samad said he has written to the higher authorities concerned to sanction 500 tonnes of rice and Tk 10 lakh to mitigate sufferings of the affected people.

Road under water for 10 days

Passengers to and from Satkhira and Khulna suffer due to waterlogging

The Daily Star, 17 September 2009

Direct road link between Satkhira and Khulna has remained snapped since September 6 as about two-kilometre long portion from Mirzapur to Noapara on Satkhira-Khulna road went under water from overflowing Kabodak River.

Water is flowing about three to four feet high at Mirzapur on the road and passengers to and from Satkhira and Khulna have to use boat or rickshaw van to cross the area, sources said.

Convoys of rickshaw vans carry passengers on Satkhira-Khulna road at Mirzapur in Satkhira district yesterday as waterlogging since September 6 has stopped plying of buses in the area. Photo: STAR

The situation ahead of Eid-ul-Fitre and Durga Puja is causing immense suffering to thousands of passengers who have to count extra money to cross the inundated portion.

Businessmen and shrimp traders are also suffering a lot as transport of goods is hampered, sources said.

At least 227 villages in Tala upazila have been inundated and about 2,00,000 people living on the banks of the silted Kabodak River have become marooned as water from overflowing river created water logging there since September 6.

When contacted, Executive Engineer Abdur Rahim of Satkhira Roads and Highways Department said, “The government has sanctioned Tk 23 crore to repair the damaged road including Noapara-Mirzapur portion on Satkhira-Khulna road. But it will not be possible to repair the inundated road until water recedes.”

Thousands of residents of Tala upazila town are suffering as downpour for several days along with water from overflowing Kabodak River caused waterlogging in most of the areas in the upazila town.

Their movement I hampered as all the roads of the town have gone under three feet to four feet rainwater.

Functioning at offices including the UNO office, banks, business establishments and educational institutions at Tala upazila headquarters have been hampered greatly as water entered there.

Rainwater and floodwater remain stagnant, creating water logging in the areas during the rainy season almost every year, as the water cannot recede due to lack of proper drainage system, said Tala Muktijoddha College Principal Enamul Haque.

Water logging on a vast swath of land poses a serious threat to livelihood and environment in the area, said Tala Sadar Union Parishad Chairman Nazrul Islam.

Satkhira town waterlogged

The Daily Star, 9 September 2009

Over 25,000 people of Satkhira town have become marooned as ceaseless rain over the last couple of days inundated different areas of the town.

With knee-deep water inside their houses, the affected people are suffering greatly while at least ten roads of the town have gone under three feet to four feet water.

As the rainwater cannot recede due to lack of proper drainage system, most of the areas in the district town see waterlogging, making life of the residents, especially in the low-lying areas, miserable.

Children catching fish on flooded Rasulpur-Bakchara road in Satkhira town that saw serious waterlogging due to the recent downpour, below, rainwater enters shops at Palashpole. Photo: STAR

The problem has become a regular affair during the rains but the authorities concerned have not yet taken any measure to solve it, said several townspeople.

Most of the houses in Kamalnagar, Raispur, Rasulpur, Mehedibagh, Palashpole, Madhu Mallardangi, Sultanpur, Rothkhola, Katia Sarkarpara, Masterpara, Daulatpur, Kamal Nagar, Itagachha, Baddipur and Chaltetala areas are inundated.

Rasulpur-Bakchara intersection road, Rasulpur High School road, Palashpole-Court road, Rathkhola-College road, Sultanpur road, Raispur road, Daulatpur road, Madhu Mallardangi road, Kamal Nagar road, Court road, Ghoshpara road and Baddipur road are now under water.

People including children are seen catching fish in roads at Rasulpur, Rathkhola, Raispur and Daulatpur in the town.

On contact, Satkhira pourasava Chairman Sheikh Ashraful Haque said, “We have taken a plan to solve the problem but it could not be implemented due to fund constraints. We have submitted a project to the authorities concerned and we are hopeful of solving the water logging problem in the town areas very soon.”

Perennial waterlogging problem poses a serious threat to livelihood and environment on a vast swath of land in Satkhira district.

Seas ‘threaten 20m in Bangladesh’

By David Shukman, BBC News, Bangladesh 7 September 2009

Up to 20 million people in low-lying Bangladesh are at risk from rising sea levels in the coming decades, according to new research.

Scientists predict that salty water could reach far inland, making it hard to cultivate staple foods like rice.

The research comes as the government appeals for $5bn (£3bn) over five years to combat climate change.

In May, Cyclone Aila left thousands homeless, killed many and caused widespread flooding and damage.

The predictions come from the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (Cegis) in Bangladesh.

It suggests a surprisingly small area of land will be permanently lost to the waters, but notes that vast tracts in the south-west could be inundated every monsoon season.

Food threats

Ahmadul Hassan, a senior scientist at Cegis, told the BBC that the intrusion of salt water would disrupt rice production in one of Bangladesh’s poorest regions.

“These are very poor people, and vulnerable. For four months they’ll have nowhere to work,” he said.

“So people will migrate to the cities for jobs, because of the uncomfortable situation with sea level rise.

“We are talking about 20 million people,” he adds.

According to the researchers, data from 11 Bangladeshi monitoring stations shows an average sea-level rise of 5mm per year over the last 30 years, with climate models forecasting further rises.

Of Bangladesh’s total rice production, nearly half is so-called “monsoon” rice and much of that is grown in the areas most vulnerable to flooding.

In an interview with BBC News, Bangladesh’s Minister of Disaster Management, Dr Muhammed Abdur Razzaque, said he wanted sea defences similar to those in Holland.

“We have to have new designs for embankments and we have to raise their height,” he said.

“We are expecting $5bn over the next five years in support from the international community.

“This must be a grant, not a loan with interest,” he stipulated.

Bangladesh is among a number of developing countries campaigning for finance to help adapt to the effects of climate change.

There are hopes that the richest nations will agree to massive funding at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

Staff from the charity Oxfam point to the damage caused by Cyclone Aila last May to highlight why Bangladesh needs help preparing for future sea-level rise.

Abdul Khaleque is managing Oxfam’s emergency response in Satkhira region, where more than 20,000 people lost their homes on Gabura Island.

He said: “This place is very near to the sea and we know climate change is causing sea levels to rise.

“If the situation gets worse then these people cannot go back to their villages, so permanent arrangements to improve these embankments need to be made.

Defences breached

Four months after the cyclone, the sea defences are still breached and the island floods with every high tide.

The chairman of the Gabura Island “union” or council, Shofiul Ajam Lenin, is calling for the embankments to be far higher.

“If the current design is not changed then not only my union, but the other unions as well will not exist.”

The flooding has ruined the island’s freshwater supplies and hygiene in the camp is poor.

Among those living in tents on a narrow strip of high ground is Asma Khatun, a 25-year-old widow, who is now eager to leave.

“I think it is not possible to live in this country any longer. We have to move to other countries.

“We can’t live here just by drinking this water. It is not possible to live here.”

Downpour in Khulna, Satkhira: Two lakh marooned in three upazilas

The Daily Star, 8 September 2009

Around two lakh people in Dakope and Koira upazilas in Khulna and Tala upazila in Satkhira district have become homeless or marooned due to the recent downpour and rise in the water level of rivers.

One lakh 50 thousand people have become homeless in seven unions under Koira upazila of Khulna district following torrential rains, rise in the water level of Kobadak and Pashur rivers and breach in embankments, reports our staff correspondent from Khulna.

Two women wade through floodwater in Kumira union under Tala upazila of Satkhira district yesterday. Flood triggered by recent downpour marooned around 50 thousand people in the upazila. Photo: STAR

Almost all the houses of seven unions in the upazila have been inundated by torrential rains, rise in water level of Kobadak River and breaches in embankments, said Koira upazila Chairman Mohsin Reza.

Heavy downpour, rise in the water level of Pashur River and breaches in six embankments have made 20 thousand people homeless as 20 villages of Sutarkhali, Kamarkhola, Tilonga and Banishanta unions under Dakope upazila of the same district have been flooded.

The recent natural calamity has added to the misery of the people who are still struggling to recover from devastation caused by last year’s cyclone Aila.

The affected people have taken shelter in the cyclone centres where they are staying in sub-human condition amid accommodation problem and want of food and drinking water.

Those who have somehow managed to stay in their flooded houses are also in urgent need of food.

Clay-made houses of all inundated villages have collapsed due to onrush of water flowing over the rivers in Dakope and Koira upazilas.

Road transport in inundated roads has remained suspended since Saturday.

Terming the situation as quite alarming, upazila nirbahi officers (UNO) of Dakope and Koira upazilas said they are not in a position to provide any help in cash or kind to the affected people until fresh fund is provided for the purpose.

Our Satkhira correspondent reports: Over 50,000 people in 67 villages under ten unions in Tala upazila have become marooned as silted Kabodak River, fed by rainwater during three days’ downpour, overflowed its bank and flooded the area.

The road link between Satkhira and Khulna remained suspended since Sunday as Satkhira-Khulna road at Noapara in Tala upazila has gone under two to four feet water.

The affected people have taken shelter on high roads or educational institutions.

Vast tracts of submerged land under Sarulia, Islamkati, Kumira, Tentulia, Dhandia, Jalalpur, Nagarghata, Islamkati, Magura and Khalishkhali unions see water logging as silted up Kobadak River cannot absorb the water, sources said.

The recent floods have destroyed newly transplanted Aman plants on about 5000 hectares of land, 245 shrimp enclosures, 1674 ponds used for fish cultivation and betel leaf worth over Tk 5 lakh in the area, sources in the agriculture and fisheries department said.

Aila-hit Satkhira people still live in utter misery

35,000 in Shyamnagar upazila await rehabilitation

The Daily Star, 6 September 2009

Failing to return home 16 months after last year’s cyclone Aila, a family in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira live in a makeshift structure built on tree branches for safety from man-eaters and snakes. Photo: STAR

Hundreds of families in Shyamnagar upazila, made homeless by cyclone Aila and tidal surge on May 25 last year, are still passing miserable life on roads and embankments and in makeshift tents on high lands as they are yet to be brought under rehabilitation programme.

About 35,000 homeless people in Gabura, Padmapukur, Munshiganj, Burigoalini and Kashimari unions in the upazila are yet to return home as they could not rebuild their damaged houses due to financial hardship.

They are suffering for want of food and safe drinking water.

During the rainy season, flooding caused by embankment collapse and rise in water level of rivers add to their sufferings, washing away their makeshift shelters.

Sita Rani, Devi Rani Gain, Alaluddin, Shafiuddin, Dinesh Mondal, Swapon Mondal, Rashedul Islam and Saifullah of Munshiganj union in Shyamnagar upazila said they have to pass sleepless nights amid fear of storm and tidal surges when Met office advises hoisting cautionary signal.

As the Aila and tidal surges destroyed their houses and swept away rice, ducks and hens, they are passing days starved or half-starved on roads and embankments, they said.

Fear of attacks by man-eater Royal Bengal Tigers and snakes is another concern for the Aila-hit people living in makeshift houses built on the embankments adjacent to the Sundarbans.

Many of them have built temporary shelters on high branches of trees to save themselves from tigers and snakes.

Abdul Hamid Sana, Sadananda Mondal, Abinash Chakraborty and Gunadhar Biswas of Harinagar village said they are yet to be rehabilitated although their names were on the list of Aila-hit people.

A large number of Aila-hit people of the upazila have come to Satkhira district town in search of jobs but most of them are frustrated as many small mills and factories are running with losses.

A good number of Aila-hit homeless people now pull rickshaws while many others are seen begging in the streets.

Many Aila-hit people of Shyamnagar upazila are seen wandering in front of shrimp hatcheries, rice mills, ice and biscuit factories, food godowns, and bus stands with the hope of getting a job.

“The fund allocated for rehabilitation of the Aila-hit homeless people is scanty,” said HM Golam Reza, lawmaker from Satkhira-4 (Shyamnagar and Kaliganj upazilas).