Eid arrives in Bangladesh hills gripped by loss from landslides

Eid-ul-Fitr will bring little joy to Bangladesh's hill districts devastated by recent landslides.

Md Zakir, a day labourer from Rangamati's Kawkhali, lost his mother and two siblings when mud, triggered by heavy rain, came crashing down on his hut.

He had lined up with others to take monetary aid from a group of Chittagong-based journalists at Kawkhali Sadar Upazila on Sunday.

He did not seem to care about Eid on Monday, and he was not the only one.

Death toll crossed 160 after landslides hit southeast districts following heavy downpour influenced by a land depression. Rangamati was worst-hit with 120 reported deaths.   

Almost 2,000 families were affected by landslides in Rangamati alone, said district authorities.

In Kawkhali, 21 people including 13 from small ethnic tribes died in landslides and flash floods.  

Zakir described losing his family and home. "It was raining hard on Jun 13 and I was feeling afraid. I was afraid something bad was about to happen," he told bdnews24.com.

"I finished dinner and told myself that we'll move in the morning. But the hill came tumbling down at night. I was in a front room, so the mud didn't kill me."

He said he would spend Tk 5,000 he got as aid from the journalists to buy essentials and treat his father who was wounded in the landslide. 

Sharmin Aktar also lost her mother refused to get new clothes despite her father's persuasions.

"I don't want Eid happiness, I just want Allah to never again send such disasters to us in the hills," said her father 'Ishak', a small trader. 

Rizia Begum from Kochukhali is a domestic worker who supports her two grandchildren. She said they were forced out of the shelter where they had stayed for some days after the disaster.

"We stayed for three days. Then they asked us to leave. We live in other people's homes now. I don’t know how long we can continue living like this. I couldn’t buy anything for the children."