Over 5000 people of Khagrachhari have been passing their days fearing a landslide due to torrential rain that started since Friday morning.
The people of the area, who have been living on the hills, are scared of losing everything by a landslide that could happen at any time.
Ruhul Amin, 35, who has been living on a hill slope at Shantipur village under Matiranga upazila, said nights with torrent rains terrified them, as they do not have anywhere else to go.
Rokeya Begum, another terrified woman who lives at Horinathpara, said, “Government officials have carried out several surveys in last couple of years but not a single project has been taken to save us from landslides.”
Network member of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA) Khagrachhari unit Abu Daud Muhammad said the possibility of a landslide taking place now, was much higher than before.
Khagrachhari District Administration information shows that at least 1,380 families were vulnerable to landsides at several places under eight upazila of the district since mid 2009.
However, it has been said that neither the district administration nor Khagrachhari Hill District Council or any other local government body had taken initiatives to save the families at risk, all they did was carry out a surveys.
According to the survey, some 5,000 people have been living under the threat of landsides as they have been residing in makeshift houses and business centres on the hills in different areas of the district.
According to the surveys, the concerned authority was informed about relocating the vulnerable families to a safer place by 2011; however, they failed to do so.
Md Masud Karim, deputy commissioner of the district claimed that: “we have already taken initiatives to re-settle vulnerable people to safer places in the eight upazilas.”
However, he could not say how much time they would need to make the initiative a success.