At least 6,000 people in Khulna’s Dumuria and Batiaghata upazilas are forced to live under the open sky as water from the Bhadra River inundated vast areas, including croplands and seedbeds.
The flood protection dam of Chandgarh Water Development Board in Sharafpur union continues to be damaged by erosion, and eight villages, including Jaliakhali and Akra, have so far been submerged.
Many left homes in Surkhali, Kodla, Shambhunagar and Sundarmahal areas of Batiaghati and are living on Akra dam.
Some 10 educations institutions were closed and electricity supply was disrupted. A shortage of human food and animal feed has hit the afflicted areas.
Khulna Deputy Commissioner Md Mostafa Kamal visited the flood-hit areas in the two upazilas on Tuesday and assured residents of supplying relief materials and necessary aid.
He also said the dam would be repaired in the shortest time possible.
On that day, Dumuria Unnayan Forum doled out dry foods while the general secretary of Awami League’s Dumuria upazila unit, Nur Uddin Al Masud, also distributed relief goods.
Dumuria Project Implementation Officer Sheikh Abdul Quader said 610 families in 14 unions were affected by excessive rains and the damage of Chandgarh dam.
“Some 4,620 houses have been damaged,” he said.
Crops of different varieties in 980 acres of land were damaged and the estimated loss was Tk4.25 crore, said Nazrul Islam, agriculture officer of Dumuria.
Excessive water wreaked havoc on village roads in the upazilas. LGED Executive Engineer Abdul Khaleq said a deep tube well and five semi-deep tube wells were damaged.
Sub-divisional Engineer Deb Pratim Halder said cash crunch was delaying steps required to prevent further damages to Chandgarh dam.
“We nonetheless initiated a project to build an alternative dam with a fund of Tk43 lakh. We are trying our best to figure out what to do so that the situation does not worsen,” he said.
Deputy General Manager of Khulna Palli Bidyut Samity’s Dumuria office Shailendra Nath Paul said power supply in seven villages was heavily disrupted but work was on to restore optimum supply.
Hemayet Ali, chairman of Surkhali union in Batiaghata, said fruit trees in many villages were uprooted.
“Water recedes a little when it is low tide but during high tide, the situation worsens. Locals are living under makeshift shelters made by polythene bags.
“Then there is also the inadequacy of food and pure drinking water. The upazila health complex offers healthcare services but the stock of medicine is very small,” he explained.
Batiaghata upazila Chairman Ashraful Alam Khan said the upazila parishad office was trying to distribute relief materials among all those displaced by the rise in water.