Bangladesh coastal people struggle to repair embankments
Wrapped in shroud, children, women and youth lined up in protest at a place along the coast on Friday demanding sustainable embankments as sea water continued to submerge hundreds of coastal villages in the divisions of Khulna and Barishal in the aftermath of cyclone Yaas.
Several thousands of coastal inhabitants, still in cyclone shelters of Satkhira and Khulna districts, do not know when they will be back home again as their houses remained submerged in deep water all day long with saline water still flooding their area through dozens of cracks in embankments.
Hundreds of thousands of others lived directly exposed to sea water submerging their localities in several feet of water during the tide that continued to rise up to three feet above the usual level until Friday, the fourth straight day that the sea remained rough.
‘Declare the Satkhira coast abandoned for human habitation for failing to build durable embankments and relocate the coastal inhabitants to a safe place,’ Ariful Islam, president, Mangrove Student Society, the organiser of the symbolic protest at Shyamnagar in Satkhira, told the New Age correspondent in Satkhira.
More than one hundred people from three Kalapara villages — Nizampur, Kamarpur and Sutirpur — in Patuakhali also gathered in a similar protest at Mohipur saying that they do not want to die anymore before death, reported the Patuakhali New Age correspondent.
Exactly a year ago a severer tidal flooding in the aftermath of cyclone Amphan hit the coast driving many people out of their home —for as long as eight months at some places — as authorities could not repair the breaches and damage in embankments.
‘Embankments collapsed in places requiring immediate repair after cyclone Amphan but authorities never did it,’ Khulna divisional commissioner Md Ismiel Hossain told New Age.
About 3,500 people are still in cyclone shelters in four upazilas of Satkhira and Khulna districts — Shyamnagar, Ashashuni, Paikgachha and Koira — where over 1,00,000 people have also become stranded in submerged villages.
As some of the affected people protested along the coast, others were largely busy using earth and geo bags in plugging embankment cracks on their own with almost no help from the government.
Water resources ministry could not say how long it may take to repair the coastal embankments.
Water resources state minister Zaheed Farooque admitted that they could not complete repairing all the cracks and damage left behind by cyclone Amphan last year.
‘Yaas has hit just when we were about to complete the Amphan repairs. Now we have more embankment cracks to close,’ he said.
The divisional commissioners in all three coastal divisions, affected more or less by Yaas, said that they were waiting for the water to recede before completing their assessment of losses due to cyclone Yaas, which made landfall in indian coast about 300 kilometres from the Bangladesh coast on Wednesday morning.
Authorities have already confirmed nine deaths along Bangladesh coast during the passage of the storm that caused tidal flooding along the entire coast of the country, with water reaching up to 6.5 feet above the normal level in places, accompanied by heavy wind.
Yaas degenerated into a well-marked low over Bihar and adjoining east Uttar Pradesh on Friday morning, said the Bangladesh Meteorological Department in a special bulletin while asking maritime ports to lower the cautionary signal number three.
Some 55,000 people have been affected by inundation in four upazilas of Barishal — Hizla, Mehendiganj, Muladi and Bakerganj, according to the district’s deputy commissioner’s office.
Enamur Rahman, state minister, disaster management and relief, told New Age that Yaas caused minimal losses though the inundation initially impacted 2.1 lakh people, who were already back home, in nine coastal districts.
‘It’s nothing,’ Enamur said in reference to his estimation of the cyclone losses though Bangladesh reported more deaths caused by Yaas than India where the cyclone landed.
Tidal flooding inundated 232 villages in Patuakhali district, 80 villages in Satkhira and 30 chars in Bhola, according to New Age correspondents.
Our correspondent in Barishal reported that major rivers in the region, including the Bishkhali and the Kacha, flowed above their danger levels until Friday as sea water intruded onto land during the tide through 14 breaches in the embankment.
Fresh inundation occurred in low-lying areas in Barishal on Thursday evening and Friday morning, he reported, adding that over 1,000 houses have been damaged by Yaas.
The district fisheries offices in Bhola, Satkhira and Barishal in their Initial assessments reported complete inundation of 23,000 ponds and fish enclosures, causing losses worth Tk 140 crore.
Tidal flooding also inundated vegetable croplands and betel leaf plants. The inundation of a vast land with saline water prompted the fear that its desalinisation might take a while affecting the agricultural production.
Our Manikganj correspondent reported that the ferry services between the Aricha and Kazirhat ghats and the Paturia and Daulatdia ghats returned to almost normal after days of suspension and disruption since Yaas approached India coast on Tuesday night.
Besides, there have been power outages in many areas along the coast since Tuesday.
News Courtesy:
http://www.newagebd.net/article/139087/bangladesh-coastal-people-struggle-to-repair-embankments
