An estimated 10,000 families in three upazilas – Pirgacha, Kaunia, and Gangachara – of Rangpur are living in inhumane conditions amid the deteriorating flood situation due to a rise in the water level of the River Teesta.
The flood-affected people are suffering from an acute shortage of potable water as the tubewells have gone underwater, and the sewerage system has collapsed.
People, along with their livestock, have taken refuge on roads yet to be submerged by the floodwaters.
Coupled with the flash floods flowing down from the Indian state of Sikkim, the continuous rain over the last few days has caused the Teesta River to swell, eroding its banks.
“We are passing our days often starving. Nobody cares about our sufferings,” said Amjad Ali, 48, from the flood-affected Morneya union.
Kolcondo union’s Zabeda Begum said her home, located around 300 meters from the Teesta River, was washed away on Wednesday night.
Morneya union’s Chairman Jillur Rahman said more than 50 houses in his union were engulfed by the river in the last few days.
Gangachara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tamanna said they have a list of 28 families who lost their homes to the river erosion.
The list is being updated, said the UNO, adding that around 250 families from Kolcondo, Nohali, Morneya, and Lakshmitari unions were evacuated to safety.
Mahbub Rahman, chief engineer of the Northern zone of the Water Development Board, said they are taking measures to prevent river erosion in the affected areas.
