CHAR FASSON, BHOLA, May 29: Char dwellers in Char Fasson Upazila of the district don't understand wind signals.
Due to their knowledge shortage about disaster signals both fatality and belonging loss go higher at the time of any calamity or cyclone in the upazila. At the same time, there has not been any effective interpreting awareness in this regard. The activities of interpreting signals are very limited.
According to official sources, the time from March 15 to October 15 has been identified as the disaster months. Despite various cautionary signals for pre-disaster and post-disaster periods, these are coming of no use in the life of short-learned people. They are not taking port-centric signals and great signals as important.
There are over 32 chars surrounded by the mighty Meghna and the Tentulia rivers. These chars are detached from the main land of the upazila. There are 25,000/30,000 people in ten of these chars, who don't understand signals at all. They can just guess about disaster when see abnormal surge in rivers and severity of breeze. Due to lack of knowledge about Great Danger Signal No. 10, the fatality goes up because of their ignorance about importance of the signal.
Lives of domestic animals are much important to these illiterate and half-educated people than their own lives. They don't want to go to shelter centres leaving away their cattle. Despite mike-based requests for going to shelter centres during Cyclone Mocha, only 3,000 people of these ten chars took shelter in centres. The number of shelter centres in char areas is less than requirement. And, there is no Tila or raised lands for domestic animals.
Dhalchar Union Chairman Abdur Salam said, at present, there is no shelter centre at Dhalchar; only one risky shelter centre of the Red Crescent Society has been declared abandoned by the authority.
There are over 17,000 people at Dhalchar, he added. He further said, it can be possible to arrange shelter for 1,000 to 1,200 people through volunteers at the time of wind.
Char Kukri Mukri Union Chairman Abul Hasem Mahajan said, there is a risky shelter of about 8,000-capacity at Char Patila; despite Great Danger Signal No. 8 of Mocha, none took shelter there. Char people have no idea about disaster signals, he added.
Journalist Rafiqul Islam Montu working on life of char people said, most of them don't understand disaster signals; there is no initiative to aware them; currently signals are port-centric, and the cyclone signals are given at the eleventh hour. That is why people cannot take preparation at once, he added.
He further said, the signal-making should be area-wise, not port-centric.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Al Noman said, union chairmen have been instructed to make people aware.
When asked about limited cyclone shelters, he said, a letter has been written to authorities concerned about constructing adequate cyclone shelters.
