As flood waters recede, scars of losses emerge in north-east

Ershad Miah, a farmer from Bilajpur area of Companiganj in Sylhet, has lost everything to the floods.

His two cows were washed away last Thursday. He also lost his chickens. Even the furniture in his house was swept anyway.

"I couldn't save anything. Now, I am only trying to figure out how to save my life," he said.

Ershad Miah's fate is the same as thousands of other farmers and ranchers.

According to the district's Livestock Department, more than 3,000 cattles, including poultry, have died in the floods in Sylhet district till Wednesday. The floods have also submerged some 710 cattle farms.

As the waters recede, the scars it leaves behind are becoming more evident.

Roads, agriculture, fisheries and infrastructure have severely been affected.

The floods inundated 125 kilometres of roads and highways in Sylhet alone, with damages expected to cross Tk100 crore.

The loss in the agriculture sector is estimated to be a whopping Tk500 crore.

Parindra Das, a farmer from Radhanagar area of ​​Gowainghat upazila, almost seemed resigned to his fate.

The floods in May submerged his boro paddy. This time, his field once dotted with Aus is also under water.

"I borrowed money after the loss of Boro paddy and planted Aus in the field. Now that too has sunk. I have no other choice but to die without eating."

Matu Mia, a farmer from the area, had thought ahead and cut his boro paddy before the floods hit. He stored them in his house.

 Then the water came and his best laid plans unravelled.

"The water has taken away everything from me. I spent so much money and effort on my paddy but in the blink of an eye, everything was gone. Now I have to give up farming and become a day labourer," he said.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, Sylhet Divisional Office, 55,000 hectares of Aus paddy, 25,000 hectares of planted aman and 8,000 hectares of vegetables have been submerged in the water.

The damage has been recorded in all four districts of the division, with Sylhet facing the most losses.

The department's Additional Director Mosharraf Hossain Khan said, "We have lost about Tk500 crore, but it is not possible to get an actual amount of the damage now. It could be much higher.

Massive loss of livestock

According to the Sylhet Divisional Office of the Department of Livestock, 3,189 cattle have died in the district so far, with 710 farms completely submerged.

Moreover, 1,991 tonnes of straw and 2,959 tonnes of grass were washed away.

In all, the loss of livestock in the district so far was Tk11 crore 65 lakh 44 thousand taka.

Companiganj upazila seems the most affected, but the data for it is still not available as the Upazila Parishad building is inundated and there is no electricity or mobile network.

Director of the Department of Livestock, Sylhet Mohammad Zakir Hossain said, "Apart from these losses, there has been an acute shortage of cattle feed in the entire district."

He said the crisis will not end easily and the provision of cow feed was discussed at an emergency meeting.

 District Livestock Officer Mohammad Rustam Ali said, "We are currently treating cattle at various shelters. I am preparing to start vaccination activities so that infectious diseases do not occur when the water recedes. We are also trying to supply cow feed in flooded areas," he added.

Meanwhile, fisheries in Sylhet are counting Tk140 crore in losses, with farmers in Sunamganj bearing the brunt of the damage.

No respite in Netrokona

In Netrokona, 99,310 families in 10 upazilas of the district are still in waterlogged condition.

Around 362 shelters are housing more than one lakh people, half of whom are women and children.

Meanwhile, a schoolteacher and a child have drowned, with the death toll in the district reaching six. Officially, the number is still considered four.

While water is receding in upstream areas like Kalmakanda and Durgapur, the trial of destruction is becoming clearer.

Indigenous villages, especially near Garopahar, have suffered the most.

Landslides have followed the floods and heavy rains.

Choyan Richil, a local at Pachgaon, said everyone left their homes when the water entered and sought refuge on higher ground. When they returned, they found that everything had been swept away.

Durgapur UNO Rajib-ul Ahsan said the number of ruined houses in different unions of the upazila, including Gaokandia and Chandigarh, would be more than 400. 

On the other hand, UNO Abul Hashem of Kalmakanda said that the number of destroyed houses in Rangchati, Lengura and Kharnai Union was about 500.

Relief theft: UP secretary, entrepreneur arrested

Local police arrested Mendipur UP Secretary Musa Miah, 40, and his associate Nasim Ahmed on charges of stealing relief items.

AHM Ariful Islam, the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), said the duo stole 18 packets of relief allotted for Mendipur Union.

On Tuesday, locals detained them and they were later arrested after allegations proved to be true.

A case has been filed over the matter.

Deaths rise to 42

The number of people suffering from various diseases and deaths due to floods rose to 42 on Wednesday.

A report by the Health Emergency Operations Center and Control Room of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the deaths were due to diarrhea, snake bites, drowning and injuries.

According to the Department of Health, the number of people infected with various water-borne diseases has also increased to 3,403.

Of the casualties, six deaths and 481 infections were reported in the last 24 hours.

A total of 1,976 medical teams are working in the flood-hit four divisions, said DGHS.