The devastating floods have plunged affected districts into a severe crisis of drinkable water as heavy rain and the onrush of water from the upstream continues to upend lives in more and more areas of the country’s northeast and southeast regions.
With no sign of the rain and onrush of hilly waters stopping, roads, highways, alleys and also the ground floors of many buildings, houses and business establishments have gone completely under water. Marooned people are suffering from pure drinking water as their tube-well and other sources of safe waters remain submerged by floodwaters.
Therefore, the flood victims in Feni, Cumilla, Khagrachhari, Noakhali, Chattogram, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Lakshmipur and Cox's Bazar and adjoining upstream regions have been going through immense sufferings due to crisis of food and pure drinking water.
Many people have taken shelter in the houses of their relatives while many people in shelter homes. An acute shortage of food and pure drinking water has intensified the sufferings of the people who have taken shelter in many primary schools and other educational institutions.
Marooned people are suffering from
pure drinking water as their
tube-well and other sources of
safe waters remain
submerged by floodwaters
A large number of people are still waiting at their respective houses as they failed to arrange any transport to reach the shelter homes or other safer places. All shops remain closed and there is no way to go to other places as the roads were submerged by floodwater.
Integrated efforts of all government and non-government organisations and individuals concerned can be the effective means of supplying safe water among the deluge-hit people. It is indeed a matter of grave concern for all us. There is no alternative to taking immediate measures to this end.
Besides, a large number of houses are still waterlogged while cropland under threat of severe river erosion. The worst-affected families are worrying over a return to normal life as they remain stranded far from home in makeshift shelters. The affected people are passing days in extreme misery amid an acute crisis of food and pure drinking water and the spread of waterborne diseases. Besides, the risk of an outbreak of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases is high in flood-affected areas.
All stakeholders in association with the local administration will have to intensify supplying safe water and distributing relief materials in the worst-affected areas. Simultaneously, the department of health must undertake measures to prevent any outbreak of water-borne diseases in flood-affected areas.
