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“I haven’t had anything to eat since last night. I haven’t seen another flood like this since 1988,” one victim said
Published : 02 Jul 2024, 01:49 PM
The Muhuri River in Feni is flowing above the danger line as heavy rain and runoff from the hills swell the water level.
The river has breached dams and flooded several villages in the district.
A man has died while trying to fish in the floodwaters.
The Muhuri River was flowing 125 cm above the danger line due to rain and runoff from India, said Md Abul Kashem, divisional engineer for the Feni Water Development Board.
On Monday night, the Muhuri was flowing 150 cm above the danger line. Overnight the river breached a dam and flooded Fulgazi Bazar. Small vehicles are stranded as the Feni-Parshuram regional road is under three feet of water.
Kashem said that at least ten villages were flooded when the Muhuri dam was breached in five places. Several hundred families are stranded by the water.
Nayeem Uddin Khokon, a council member from Ward No. 8 from Fulgazi Sadar Upazila, said that the North Daulatpur, South Daulatpur, Banikpara, Malipathar, Shaldhar, and Derpara were among the flooded villages. Hundreds are stranded there by the water.
Nurul Karim from Daulatpur said that the river overflowed the dam around 11:30am on Monday and swept through his tin house.
“All the furniture in the house was swept away, but my wife, two children, and I somehow survived. But, having lost our only home, we are now destitute.”
Sidratul Muntaha, a school student from the Upazila, said: “The water carried away all my books and copies. The only things we rescued from the house are the clothes on our backs.”
Sakina Akter, 75, is from South Daulatpur village.
“The strength of the current damaged all the things in the house. Our cooking utensils were swept away. I somehow survived with my two disabled children.”
“I haven’t had anything to eat since last night,” she said in a tear-stricken voice. “I haven’t seen another flood like this since 1988.”
Abul Kalam from North Daulatpur is over 70 years old.
“The water entered our house after it broke through the dam,” he said. “Our furniture is ruined. My two girls, my grandchildren, and I have been suffering since last night.”
“Due to the runoff from India, the Muhuri River water swelled and inundated the Fulgazi market,” said Md Salim, chairman of the Fulgazi Sadar Union council. “If the rain continues, the water will breach more spots on the dam and flood more low-lying areas. The water level on the river is still rising.”
A 25-year-old man named Md Mamun from the North Ghoniamara area of the Fulgazi Sadar Union was killed while trying to fish in the floodwater, said Harun Majumder, chairman of the local Upazila council.
Rashed Shahriar, executive engineer of the Feni Water Development Board, says there are 122 km of embankments on both sides of the Muhuri-Kuhua-Silonia rivers. The parts that were breached will be repaired when the water recedes.
Feni Deputy Commissioner Musammat Shahina Akhter said the situation is being regularly monitored. Upazila executive officers are inspecting the parts of the dam that have been breached. Dry food and other aid are being distributed.
Dry food is being distributed to those stranded by the water, said Tania Bhuiyan, Fulgazi Upazila executive officer.
Feni-1 MP Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury said that he visited the affected areas after receiving news of the dam being breached. Construction of a permanent embankment on the river will begin if it is passed by the ECNEC this year, he said.
Every year, water from upstream India breaches the dams along the Muhuri, Kuhua, and Silonia rivers and floods a large section of the Fulgazi and Parshuram Upazilas, leaving many destitute.
