The flood situation has worsened in Lakshmipur while the entire area, including the district town, has been inundated again.
In the last 80 years, Dalalbazar, Kamalkhola and the western areas of the district did not get flooded but now those areas have been affected by floods.
The flood situation worsened further due to continuous heavy rains from Saturday evening and heavy pressure of water coming down from upstream until Sunday evening. A total of 58 unions of five upazilas, including the district town, are currently affected by floods. As the days go by, human misery has reached its peak.
The district Department of Agricultural Extension and fisheries department said they have suffered hundred percent loss. As the days progress, there is a huge loss of resources, including crops. At the same time, various infrastructures, including roads, bridges and culverts, have been damaged while a total of 6.56 lakh people have been marooned.
Deputy Director of Department of Agricultural Extension of the district Sohel Md Shamsuddin Feroz said, “Currently, there are crops in the field, including seasonal crops, vegetables and fruits on 47,285 hectares of land. There are seasonal crops include Ropa Aman seedbeds, Ropa Aman, Urti aush and vegetables on 31,124 hectares of land. Almost 100 percent of the agricultural land has been submerged by flood water.”
District Fisheries Officer Md Billal Hossain said that almost 100 percent of the fishes in the district's 30,000 ponds were washed away by the flood. The market value of which is about Tk 210 crore.
Out of 1,082 educational institutions in the district, most of them have been closed due to rising water while some institutions are being used as shelter centres for the flood victims, said Gautam Chandra Nath, District Primary Education Officer and Higher Secondary Education Officer.
As the flood situation worsened for the second time, public sufferings are gradually increasing. The western part of Sadar Upazila and other areas, including Dalalbazar Union and Kamalkhola, have not experienced floods in the last 80 years, local elders said. In 1998 when the entire country was hit by two months of severe floods, the areas did not witness flooding. But this time all those areas have been flooded again after 80 years.
All pastures and cow-grazing lands are already submerged by flood water. As a result, there has been a large-scale cattle-food crisis, a source in the District Livestock Officer Kumud Kumar Nath said. However, he denied the news that any animal was washed away by flood water.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Suraiya Jahan said, “More than 15,000 people have so far been rescued from the affected areas and sent to shelter centres. One of my current tasks is to protect people's lives and property. At the government level, Tk 10 lakh in cash and 415 metric tons of rice have been distributed. Besides, The Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) is distributing cooked and dry foods.”
Although she did not say anything specific about the damage, according to the information received from various sources, the amount of damage in the district so far is more than Tk 800 crore.
