‘I have been carrying rice for five days, but I have not been able to cook it, I have been hungry.’ 70-year-old Rekha Rani Das was saying in the regional language of Chittagong. She is a resident of Ward No. 2 of Keochia in Satkania Upazila. The houses were submerged in the floods caused by continuous heavy rains. As a result, the stove did not light in her house for five days. Finally, she rushed to the shelter, wading through waist-deep dirty water to feed her hungry daughter and two grandchildren. Rekha Rani is a cruel real-life example of the humanitarian disaster that is going on with 4 lakh people trapped in the worst floods in history. She was saying that she could not cook rice at home for five days, and her children were fasting.
When she reached the Keochia High School shelter in Satkania, her body was shivering with cold. Finally, when a relief packet reached her from the hands of State Minister for Power and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit, a smile of relief appeared on the old woman’s face. Then, carrying the relief packet on her head, Rekha Rani Das walked back home in waist-deep water. In response to this reporter’s question, what she said simply meant that there is no man in her house. She is a family of only one daughter and two young grandchildren. She had to walk back home in her waist-deep water to feed her hungry daughter and grandchildren. Then, carrying this heavy relief packet on her head, she walked back home again. However, this pitiful picture is not only of Rekha Rani, but also of Keochia Union and other parts of Satkania. About 4 lakh residents of Satkania are completely submerged in water due to this flood.
Due to continuous rains and landslides, vast areas of the upazila are now like a sea. Thousands of mud houses have collapsed. Crop fields and fish ponds have been submerged. Although relief has been distributed by the administration and private sectors, locals complain that adequate help has not yet reached remote areas. They said that there is a crisis of pure drinking water, dry food and baby food across Satkania. Most of the rural roads in the upazila are under 5 to 7 feet of water. Communication with 17 unions has been cut off. There is no way to travel except by boat. Due to the high rent of boats, those who cannot afford it are unable to go anywhere. The Keochia High School shelter is overcrowded. Therefore, the families staying in the center are also facing a severe crisis of sanitation and pure water.
