Relief comes late to Rangamati

Relief distribution activities in the landslide-ravaged areas of Rangamati are proceeding at a sluggish pace. The local administration has yet to prepare a list of people affected by the disaster. A Sunday visit to several shelters in Rangamati town at Rangamati Radio Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation office and Rangamati Government College revealed members of the army distributing cooked food and providing healthcare to affected people. During the visit, locals aired their grievances saying that lunch was served late, at around 3pm. Mothers with infants are the most susceptible to malnutrition. Hosne Ara from Vedvedi, who took refuge in Rangamati Radio Centre, said: “The army gives us food. But there is very little water to drink in the shelter.” Sumi Akhter, at Rangamati Government College, said they receive dry foods in the morning and cooked food in the afternoon. An ailing woman recovers on a cot in a shelter in Rangamati on June 18, 2017 Dhaka Tribune

Adequate relief material in stock

Shahida Akhter, assistant commissioner of Rangamati district administration informed that as many as 2,500 people including women and children have so far taken refuge in a total of 19 shelters in Rangamati city. Among the shelters in Rangamati, five are being supervised by the police, seven by the army, four by the Border Guard Bangladesh and four others by Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. The district administration is coordinating the management for all the shelters. Manzarul Mannan, deputy commissioner of Rangamati, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Tk65lakh in cash, 300 tonnes of rice, 500 bundles of corrugated tin sheets and Tk15lakh for constructing dwellings have been allocated for the landslide victims. In addition, we have 10,000 sachets of oral saline and 1,00,000 water purifying tablets. “We have not started to distribute the tin sheets just yet. Because the affected people will start constructing houses on the soft topsoil of the hills risking further landslides,” explained the DC.

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“All the relief materiel will be distributed very soon. The rice has been distributed in the upazilas already. Right now, we are distributing food and medicine,” said the DC. Replying to a query, the DC said: “Distributing relief takes time. We are still assessing the damage. The assessment will be completed by Sunday (yesterday).” At a media briefing on Sunday, the DC Sunday said: “We have adequate stock of relief materials including cash and food items. When the affected people received the relief materials, they said they are not in a position to store them. Hence, we are distributing cooked food.” “29,000 litres of octane have been brought in to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply in the district. We are also conducting mobile court drives to keep the prices of essentials at reasonable levels,” the DC said. A Rangamati man waits for medical attention at a shelter on June 18, 2017 Dhaka Tribune

Fear of rain and further landslides

Meanwhile, a fresh torrent on Sunday renewed fears of further landslides. The fear drove further number of people to the shelters. Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Director Newton Das, reassigned from Chittagong on special duty, told the Dhaka Tribune that the fire service sounds alarms whenever it begins to rain, to alert people living in hazardous areas to relocate to the shelters. Md Humayun, in-charge of Rangamati Meteorological Office told the Dhaka Tribune that they recorded 68.4mm rainfall in the district from morning till 12 noon Sunday. At least 114 people died and hundreds injured in the landslides last week. Neighbouring hilly districts are also affected, but the damage is centralised in Rangamati.