Floods in Lalmonirhat, Naogaon and Jamalpur have rendered thousands homeless, affecting arable land and causing the victims to suffer from river erosion and lack of food and potable water.
The overall flood situation in the district seemed to have improved yesterday but sufferings of the victims followed in the aftermath of flood.
At least 1,000,000 people have been affected by flooding in 85 villages under five upazilas of the district.
No relief from the government or NGOs reached the food-affected areas as of noon yesterday.
Flood-affected Mozena Bewi, 66, in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila said she had been facing a scarcity of food and drinking water for the last six days.
“We are without food and pure drinking water in the flood-prone areas,” said Shekeher Ali, 55, of the upazila.
Asked about relief, Chairman of Kulaghat union parishad in Lalmonirhat sadar Idris Ali said he didn’t get any of relief allotment to distribute among the flood-affected people till yesterday.
On the other hand, aman cultivation in the region has been severely affected by the flood, which damaged the crop seedlings on a huge amount of land near the Teesta and Dharla river basins.
Lalmonirhat Agriculture Extension Department (AED) said aman seedlings on eight hectares of land and its advanced variety on 14 hectares of land had been completely damaged.
Farmer Nesar Uddin, 55, at Madhya Goddimari village of Hatibandha upazila said he had his aman seedlings on 800 centiares of land and they were damaged by flood water.
Hazrat Ali, 60, of Mogholhat village in Lalmonirhat sadar echoed Nesar’s statement.
He expressed this frustration over what he would do without the aman seedlings.
Lalmonirhat Agriculture Extension Department Deputy Director Abdul Mazid, however, said the loss of seedlings would not affect aman cultivation, as the seedlings are available in the local markets.
Alongside the loss of crops and seedlings, at least 200 homesteads were washed away by the Teesta and Dharla rivers in the villages of Hatibandha, Aditmari and Lalmonirhat sadar upazilas in the last two days.
Akkel Ali, 56, erosion-hit villager of Badaitari village in Lalmonirhat sadar, said he lost his house for the fourth time because of Dharla river erosion. Afsar Ali, 50, of Aditmari upazila, lost his dwelling because of Teesta river erosion for the second time Friday night.
The Chairman of Mogholhat union parishad in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila Habibur Rahman Habib said the erosion by the Dharla river started at dawn on Friday after the flash flood.
Our Jamalpur correspondent adds: “Flood situation has taken a new turn in the district, with two more unions in Bakshiganj upazila flooded due to the rise in Brahmaputra river water.”
At least 40,000 people have been marooned in water in Islampur, Dewanganj and Bakshiganj upazilas and are facing a scarcity of food and potable water.
No relief has reached the flood victims yet.
On the other hand, people of Manda upazila of Naogaon have been affected by a flash flood caused by the damage to the dam on the Atrai river in the district.
Manda upazila Chairman Ikramul Bari said some 18-20 killometres in the area have been flooded, inundating hundreds of hectares of crop land.
The chairman said the flood victims have been marooned in water and are living under the open sky.
Executive Engineer Moktan Hossain of Naogaon Water Development Board said the heavy rainwater coming down the hill caused the flood. He added that the floodwater would recede in a day or two.
