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Flood victims unable to return home as Jamuna swells for 4th time

Published : Wednesday, 19 August, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 314
Ashok Benarjee
SIRAJGANJ, Aug 18: People who took shelter earlier on different points of embankment and high ground cannot return to their houses as the Jamuna River is swelling again for the fourth time.
A day-earner Babu Hossain took shelter on embankment of Katawabda in Sirajganj Sadar accompanying his wife Tumpa and daughter Huzaifa, 11. They have been living there for the last two months.
They decided to return home with water receding. But the water level in the Jamuna is again rising.
So they have dropped their plan. They are now thinking how they will pass the days ahead. It is the same with other 40 families staying on the embankment.
 Despite they have been living on the embankment for two months, they did not get enough assistance from the government or others. They got 5kg rice only and some meat of sacrificial animals and one piece of lungi each on the occasion of  Eid festival.
To mention, there are dearth of sanitary facilities and drinking water for those who are living on the embankment. Thousands of people took shelter on different points of the embankment in the district. They are facing the same condition.
They are passing days on half-meal or starving. Despite government allocations, these are not reaching them.  
One Fatema on the embankment said, she has got one lungi only. Another Fatima, wife of Kabir Hossain, said, "We have been here for about two and a half  months. The Jamuna River is continuing rising and receding. By this time, we tried to go to the house. But it has been knee-deep water again in the house."
She said she did not get any assistance either from the government or private sources.
Wife of Noor Mohammed Josna said, flood appears every year and stays for 15-20 days. But this year the flood has been lasting for more than two months, she pointed out. "Water is increasing again. So, we cannot return home," she added.
She further said, her husband is a rickshaw-puller; they are passing days in hardship with their two issues.
She bemoaned their house has turned unliveable with its tin and wood damaged.
 "We have not money for repairing the house," she maintained.
She said she got 5 kg rice only. It is the fourth time flood in the district. The water level in the Jamuna increased by 12cm in the last two days, and now it is flowing 9cm below the danger mark at Sirajganj point.
Due to the latest flooding, the life has been standstill again. They are in a dilemma whether they will return to houses or stay in makeshift shelters.
Deputy Engineer of Water Development Board in Sirajganj Rafikul Islam said, the Jamuna River is fluctuating with rising and falling. He added the rising water is about to touch the danger mark.
He said, increasing by 12cm over the last two days, it was flowing 9cm below the danger level on Tuesday morning. Quoting Flood Forecast and Warning Centre, he said raining is likely time and again.
"That is why the water level can continue rising, and there is a possibility for fourth-time flooding," he warned.
The flood in the district appeared in the first week of June. The flood has affected 1,18,000 families while about 5.50 lakh people got marooned. An official of Relief and Rehabilitation Abdur Rahim said, the flood has yet been over - water is rising.
According to him, so far, 565 metric tons (MT) of rice, cash Tk 8,89,000 and Tk 21 lakh for baby food and cattle feed have been distributed among the affected people in the district.
In addition, there has a stock of 500 MT rice and  Tk 10 lakh for distribution.
 Executive Engineer of Public Health Engineering Department Md. Tobibur Rahman said, during the third time flood in the district, 2,362 tube-wells and 2,277 latrines were submerged.
Already, 105 tube-wells and 277 latrines have been set up. Also 1,047 tube-wells have been repaired while 28 more have been lifted up. A total of 1,05,000 water-purifying tablets have been distributed among the victims.









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