Khulna, August 17 (bdnews24.com)—Thousands of victims of Cyclone Aila are still living hand-to-mouth existences in makeshift shacks along Water Development Board embankments in the southwestern district of Khulna, almost three months after the devastating storm struck.
As many as 57 people were killed and 400 injured as thousands of houses were destroyed or damaged in Dakop and Koira upazilas, the most affected areas in the district, when Aila struck on May 25.
"The cyclone's tidal bore swept away our houses, crops and livestock; now we are barely scraping by. The rainy season is only adding to our woes," Ajibor Sheikh, from Tildanga village in Dakop upazila, told bdnews24.com.
People of 20-25 villages took shelter in the Water Development Board coastal embankment at Chhutarkhali-Nolia areas in Dakop, while people from 30-35 villages took shelter at two WDB coastal embankments at Moheswaripur, Maharajapur and Gilabari in Koira upazila.
They built huts on the embankments with hay, pieces of corrugated iron, hardboard, polythene and anything else that came to hand. There were no arrangements for potable water and sewerage.
The cyclone victims managed to survive with relief aid, some by selling the domestic animals. Others eventually went to Khulna town and other neighbouring areas to start over.
Ajit Bawali, from Maharajpur union in Koira, one of the hardest-hit areas, said most people in his community were yet to receive any money from the government to rebuild their houses.
Many people from the same village said they were still unable to build new houses or plant crops due to the large amounts of standing-water on their land.
Deputy-director of the Agricultural Extension Department in Khulna, Md Safiur Rahman, said the target for Ropa Aman harvest would not be reached in sout Dakop and Koyra upazilas this year due to the impact of the cyclone.
"Some families were given Tk 5,000 to rebuild their houses in Dakop and Koyra, and additional funds have been requested from the authorities," Khulna deputy commissioner NM Ziaul Alam told bdnews24.com.
However, he added, it would be impossible to begin rebuilding the houses until the standing-water in the area had dispersed.
Local MP Noni Gopal Mondol said the rehabilitation funds they had received so far were insufficient to meet the needs of the community.
"Strong embankments will also have to be built to replace the ones damaged by the cyclone," Mondol said.
On July 19, foreign minister Dipu Moni and disaster management minister Abdur Razzaq met with representatives of 45 donor agencies, NGOs and diplomats requesting financial assistance totalling $1.149 billion for the victims of the devastating Aila.
Aila claimed 190 lives and was the most damaging cyclone since Sidr, which devastated the same region when it struck on Nov 15, 2007, with an eventual death toll of 3,406.
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