Water recedes, sufferings continue

The flood waters have receded in different parts of northern districts but sufferings of the people have not lessened yet.

Local sources said the flood situation has started to improve in the Rangpur division with the recession of water in major rivers- Brommoputra, Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar and Ghagot. The flood-hit people who took shelter in makeshift houses on government high lands and different educational institutes started to return homes.

They are facing a severe drinking water crisis. Cattle farmers are facing a fodder crisis. Water-borne diseases have broken out in many places in the districts.

Thousands of hectares of croplands, hundreds of homesteads, poultry farms and fish ponds in the Rangpur region have been affected badly due to recent flooding in Brommoputra, Teesta Dharla and Ghagot rivers.

Above 2-lakh people in five districts of the division have been affected. Hundreds of educational institutes remained closed.

Momin Ali, 50, a flood-affected person in Charmadhobrampur area under Kurigram Sadar upazila said his hands and legs have become whitened due to the movement amid the stagnant flood water which is itching consistently.

Khodeja Bewa, 55, of MashalerChar under Ulipur upazila of the district said flood water has been receding from the houses of the char for the last two days.

They are facing a drinking water crisis as the tube well still is under water. Two of her grandchildren have been suffering from dysentery, she added.

Haqqani Miah, a fodder trader at Dharla Bridge point Kurigram Sadar said, fodder prices have increased much. A fodder market used to sit every day at Dharla Bridge point. Around 60 fodder-laden trucks from different adjacent districts are being unloaded here every day while the import is higher before the flood.

Jaman Miah, 58, of Charjattrapur area of the upazila said, his two homestead fodder stands have been damaged as they got water stagnation for the last ten days. He has come to the market to buy fodder. A bunch of fodder is being sold to the farmers at Tk 11-12 while it was Tk 8 earlier. The import seems to be very thin in the market after the flood.

Kurigram District Livestock Officer Abdul Hye Sarker said there are around 17 lakhs cows and buffalo, and 15 lakhs goats and sheep in Kurigram and Lalmonirhat districts. The char people used to rear cattle in every house which is also their income source. They are passing their days amid hardship with their cattle due to water stagnation in the fields.

Rangpur Divisional Fisheries Department Deputy Director Monirul Islam said some 1042 fish farms in Rangpur- Gaibandha, Kurigram, and Lalmonirhat washed away. The fish farmers have to incur losses of around Tk 200 crores this year.

Additional Director, DAE Rangpur, Mahabubur Rhaman said around 15,320 hectares of croplands in Rangpur- Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, and Kurigram went under water.

Academic activities remained halted in 451 educational institutes of the division.

Deputy Director, Directorate of Primary Education, Rangpur division, Mujahidul Islam said, some 422 primary schools in Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, and Gaibandha districts remained closed due to flooding.

Director of Rangpur Divisional Health Office Dr Abu Mohammad Jakirul Islam said some 704 medical teams have been formed in the division to provide health care services for the affected people.

Laxitari union chairman Abdullah Hadi said the villages of his union went under water. The villagers who took shelter on high lands started to return to their homes.

Deputy Commissioner, Rangpur, Asib Ahsan said, “We visited the affected areas and distributed relief and food properly among the flood-hit people.”

Executive Engineer BWDB, Dalia Barrage division Nilphamari, Asfaudoulla Prince said, the flood situation has improved as the water level in Teesta is shrinking.

Meher Jamal, 55, a farmer of Uttar Nowabesh Pachgachi village said, he took a loan of Tk 26 thousand from an NGO and cultivated gourd on some 2.5 bighas of land spending Tk 50 thousand.

He hoped to sell the produce for at least Tk 2 lakhs. But his dream got shattered as the cropland remained underwater for ten days.

Sirajul Islam, 55, of Gokunda village of Teesta River Char under Lalmonirhat Sadar said they had taken shelter in makeshift houses on the Government high lands for seven days. He along with his family members returned home on Saturday as the water started receding. His homestead garden has been washed away.

Executive Engineer, BWDB Kurigram, Abdullah Al Mamun said, the overall flood situation has been improved as the water in the rivers - Dharla, Dhudkumar, and Brommoputra started receding.

Acting Chief Engineer for Rangpur Zone of BWDB Muhammad Amirul Haque Bhuiyan said incidents of sporadic erosion of riverbanks with unstable and sandy soil texture were reported from a few places alongside major rivers in the last few days.

“We are conducting riverside bank protection works at a few vulnerable points alongside major rivers in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Gaibandha districts,” Bhuiyan added.