A broken embankment of the Bangladesh Water Development Board in Kalinagar under Paikgasa upazila of Khulna was repaired on Monday night after five days of continuous work by the local people.
Local Panel Chairman Sukumar Kobiraj said: "Thousands of men and women from different areas have worked hard for five days to complete the work of the dam.”
The dyke had been breached on Thursday, flooding 13 villages. As a result, the people of these villages faced severe distress. Shrimp farms, Aman paddy and seedbeds were damaged.
Meanwhile, Paikgasa Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mehera Naznin said the administration is providing all possible assistance to the disaster-affected people, and relief materials are being distributed in phases.
“Some 12 tons of rice have been allocated in the disaster-hit Deluti, and porridge and dry food are being distributed daily,” Upazila Project Implementation Officer Imrul Kayes told Dhaka Tribune.
A local teacher, Sukriti Mohan Sarkar, said Teachers, students, government organizations, NGOs and various voluntary organizations have stood beside the 15,000 homeless people of 13 villages of Deluti
“These organizations are reaching the affected areas by land and waterways and distributing dry food, cooked food, raw vegetables, drinking water, saline, polythene, clothes and other materials."
Locals Nasir Uddin, Kabari Mandal (a health worker) and Subrata Mandal expressed their regret, mentioning that those receiving aid continually receive it, saying the affected people demand a fair distribution of relief.
They said they informed the relief providers that many families are stranded in waterlogged inner areas, especially in Kalinagar, Darunmallik, Senerber and Hatbari. They suggested that no one would be deprived if relief is distributed by waterways door-to-door.
A resident, Palash Konti Roy, said: “Cyclone Remal had caused extensive damage to the people of Deluti. Now, in the season of Aman cultivation, the riverbank erosion has again devastated everything.”
Meanwhile, along with various organizations and institutions, a Navy team distributed tents, various food items and clothing to the homeless people on the streets of Kalinagar College Shelter, Darunmallik and Harinkhola.
Additionally, an institution named HridoyBangladesh in Paikgasa has set up health camps with specialist doctors in the affected areas to control waterborne diseases and distribute medicines.
