Thanchi, a quicksand for relief

But as thousands of starving highlanders continue their never-ending wait for food, little do they know that a large share of the hundred tonnes of rice – sent by the government as relief for Thanchi upazila – is now being sold in the market for a profit. Even the lucky ones who managed to collect the relief before it was whisked away by profiteers, only got their hands on just a small part of what they should have actually received. Also taking advantage of the indigenous communities' desperation, many unscrupulous traders are duping the poor by loaning them the same rice that were marked for free distribution. During a recent visit to the district, the Dhaka Tribune further found that many of the hard-to-reach areas in the remote hills of Remakree union were being ignored completely.  Thanchi Bazar: 3pm, May 31At the start of the journey, this reporter was at Thanchi Bazar – the gateway to the remote areas in the hills that are accessible only by boat through Sangu River. As he was ready to step into a boat, he noticed that labourers were carrying sacks of rice – with the government seal on them – to a boat nearby. Asked where the rice was coming from, a labourer said: “It was bought from a vendor in the bazar.” The shop was eventually tracked down, and the Dhaka Tribune found that 20 or more similar rice sacks were waiting to be sold there. “The demand of rice is so high now that we have sold 200 sacks of rice in three days because crops of jhum cultivation had dropped significantly this year,” said Nurul Kabir, proprietor of the shop. However, Kabir, also the president of Thanchi Bazar Samiti, claimed he had no idea whether the rice was actually part of the government relief. “We do not know whether it [the rice] is not for sale. We have bought these sacks from Satkania, Chittagong.” Kabir, also a former union parishad member, said other shops in the bazar also had similar rice sacks with government seals on them.  Sakkupara, Chhoto Madak: 10am, June 1For some time now, nearly 300 households in Chhoto Madak area have been struggling with hunger. Majority of the starved people are yet to see any sign of relief. As the Dhaka Tribune arrives in the area, several Karbaris – or village heads – eagerly approach in hopes that the boat might also carry some rice sacks. “[Upazila] Chairman told us that we will be given rice soon and they collected our names in mid-May. But they gave us nothing so far; even though some people from our neighbouring [four] villages have been given relief,” said Banajan of Kesapru para. Limpra Khumi from Hoikkupara said there were 26 households in their village; not a single one has received any rice so far. Hla Tripura of Hanachandra Para, Hla Thang Khumi of Chayam Para said their villages also shared the same fate. Chabache Tripura of Jhiniarang Para said 27 households in their village were suffering from extreme hunger and still waiting for the government rice to arrive.  Boro Madak Bazar: 3:45pm, June 1Arriving in Boro Madak, the Dhaka Tribune found that greed was driving unscrupulous traders to pick up new ways to exploit the poor. Here, government-allotted sacks of rice were being loaned as Dadan – a local term for loan – to those desperately searching for food. Ko Rang and Keo Mong of Andharmanik area said they have taken four sacks of rice as Dadan. In one year's time, they will have to pay back the loan with eight sacks of rice which they must cultivate in their own jhum fields. Both of them admitted they had no idea about the government relief, and had no other choice but to agree to the Dadan as it was the only way to stay alive. The Andharmanik divide It takes around two days to get to Andharmanik from Thanchi. The extreme remoteness of villages beyond this point makes it near impossible for local administration or NGOs to reach those areas. According to locals, there are about 35 to 40 villages including the easternmost village of Bangladesh located beyond Andharmanik. Unfortunately, none of the villages has received any relief so far.  Remakree Bazar: 4pm, June 5On the way back from the east, Remakree Bazar was one of the places where relief has reached those who are in need of it. However, instead of the 20kg rice that each household was supposed to get, they have only received 10kg. While visiting the local bazar, the Dhaka Tribune learned that the newly elected UP member, Memprue Marma, had already threatened locals to not speak to any journalist about the distribution of 10kg rice. Also in this bazar, the Dhaka Tribune found that one of the stores had ten government-sealed rice sacks for sale.  What officials sayAccording to the Remakree union parishad, every household in a village has been given 20kg of rice. Remakree UP Secretary Uchaw Pru said 900 sacks of rice have been distributed among the indigenous peoples in nine wards since May 30. Claiming that 300 households have received rice, he claimed: “We had no irregularity in distributing rice. Many people got 10kg, while some got 4kg because they shared their rice with others.” When the Dhaka Tribune pointed out that official documents showed that each family got 20kg of rice, Pru refused to comment. He quickly changed the subject and said: “I have counted the cost of transporting rice from Thanchi to Boro Madak which cost me Tk9,000.” Alamgir Hossain, tag officer at Remakree union parishad, said: “We selected the households from random sampling. It is hard to collect all the data on where people live because this area is too remote. “We will investigate whether people have got 6kg of rice or 10kg of rice or less,” he added.