CHAR FASSON, May 15: The disaster season has now begun along the coast. Landless families in Dhalchar have been scrambling to protect or relocate their houses.
During this hazardous time, people living on the banks of the Meghna River in the remote island Char Union of Char Fasson Upazila of Bhola District are busy repairing their houses. Many are strengthening their houses to make them storm-resistant.
People in this vulnerable area take further steps to avoid the risks of the monsoon and protect themselves from river erosion. Yet they still have to endure sufferings. This precarious period passes for them amid various crises.
Statistics show that due to climate change, the severity of this disaster has greatly increased compared to before. Despite various initiatives, it is not possible to reduce losses or eliminate the fear. Every year, a huge amount of coastal property is damaged by storm surges.
On Wednesday, visiting the Bhadrapara area in Dhalchar Union, at the isolated mouth of the sea in Char Fasson Upazila, it was seen that Kanchan Munsi was living by the Meghna River with his wife, three children, one son's wife, and a grandson in a shack made of bamboo poles and tarpaulin.
Kanchan Munsi said, he is the father of four children - one daughter and three sons. He previously had a good homestead and farmland. But the Meghna River has taken away his homestead land and farmland. He has been rendered destitute four times so far by erosion.
Ten days ago, he built that shelter by the Meghna River and has been living there with his children. Burdened by debt, he survives by fishing in the Meghna River with two of his children. He has no money to build a house now, so he is forced to cut bamboo and live in something like a tent.
His wife, Ayesha Begum, said that since the river took their land and house, her husband borrowed money several times to build a house on other land, but the river took that too. Now they are destitute.
Kanchan Munsi's daughter-in-law, Shirina Begum, said her parents married her off after seeing her father-in-law's property and beautiful house. Now the river has taken everything. They now live in a tarpaulin tent by the river.
Mohammad Humayun Kabir, a fisherman, is living with his wife and children at risk in a forest department garden in Shantinagar area of Ward No. 3, Dhalchar Union, having lost everything. He said he has been hit by erosion of the Meghna River eight to ten times so far. He has lost all his ancestral land, homestead, and his own savings due to the river erosion. Unable to afford to buy land, he lives in a shack made of tin, bamboo, and tarpaulin in a corner of the forest department garden. During rain and storms, water enters the house and soaks everything.
Jahangir Hossain, 55, a resident of Dhalchar Island, spent Tk 100,000 to repair his house before the monsoon arrived this year.
Ibrahim Miza, 58, of Dhalchar spent the same amount to fix his house. But as soon as the stormy season began, both had to leave their houses and go elsewhere.
The seasonal disasters and river erosion destroy the people of the Dhalchar coast in Char Fasson every year. These people become displaced from one place and build houses elsewhere, only to lose those again to river erosion. Displacement severely disrupts the lives of affected people. But there is no adequate government or private support for their livelihood and employment.
According to local sources, there is government khas (state-owned) land in Dhalchar Union that has not been allocated. As a result, this land lies abandoned. The displaced poor here are living miserable lives due to lack of land. Currently, about 12,000 people live in Dhalchar Union, most of them landless.
Roman Afroz, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Char Fasson, said that if landless people from Dhalchar apply for khas land following government rules, their applications will be scrutinised. Those found eligible for khas land after scrutiny will be given allocation of khas land.
