Arshad Ali Sana, a 78-year-old resident of Pratapnagar village in Ashashuni upazila, died at his residence last week due to old-age complications. He died at 11am on Friday, but it was another 12 hours before his family could bury him.
"We frantically searched for a proper burial place in the entire village for a good six-seven hours and then decided to build a concrete structure at the family graveyard to put the patriarch to rest. It was basically an above-ground burial," his son told UNB.
The reason behind the family's ordeal -- wet ground in Pratapnagar village that is making burials impossible and causing further anguish for bereaved families.
Residents say that the entire village was inundated due to flash floods triggered by incessant rainfall under the impact of the devastating Cyclone Yaas.
Though the flood water has started receding in some areas, it has rendered the ground wet and unfit for burying the dead.
"My 34-year-old son died of a heart attack last week. With no place for his burial in the village, locals helped us prepare a concrete grave with cement and bricks to put him to rest," said a grieving Shahidul Islam, whose son Mahmudul passed away on Thursday.
Sheikh Jakir Hossain, the chairman of Pratapnagar union, said: “A large portion of the village is under water and there is not a single higher ground left for burial. So the local people are building concrete graves to bury the dead."
Hundreds of houses, farmlands and roads were ravaged by Cyclone Yaas, rendering thousands in the upazila homeless.
The cyclone made landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh in the last week of May.
