Ten years on, Sutarkhali village still bears Aila scars

Published : 26 May 2019, 23:42

Jhulon Para, Sutarkhali.

Today is the 10th anniversary of cyclone Aila. That cyclone hit offshore 15 districts of the southwestern part of Bangladesh with a wind speed of 120 km per hour. About 150 persons were killed, 6,000 kilometers of roads damaged, more than 500,000 people became homeless, complete destruction of 275 primary schools and damage to 1,942 schools. Not only humans but this cyclone also caused the death of a dozen tigers and countless other wild animals.

Sutarkhali, a village of Khulna, surrounded with Sundarban, still have to bear the brunt of the aftermath of Aila as the day revisits for the tenth time rekindling the horrifying memories of the destructive cyclonic storm.

Still bearing the testimony to the storm that hit the region on this day in 2009 and remains waterlogged with highly saline water for more than two years, the area is yet to see the normal flow of life. The cyclone left behind a large number of problems, including scarcity of pure drinking water, salinity intrusion, river erosion, and illiteracy. People on that area depends on precipitation for fresh water.

Although the government has taken several steps to reduce unemployment, poverty, and illiteracy, the attempts are not so much to meet the demand of the residents of these areas. Residents of the areas are suffering from various diseases due to the scarcity of pure drinking water.

Various NGOs working for the affected people like Nobojatra, World vision, WASH, Heed Bangladesh, Grameen Bank, etc. However, they cannot operate efficiently due to lack of manpower and transportation facilities.

A pregnant woman died last week while taking her to the hospital located in Chalna, 12 kilometers away from her home in Kalabogi village of Sutarkhali. This is just an example. The situation gets worse during an extreme climatic event. Sutarkhali Union Chairman said several community clinics were set up in the area after the cyclone. However, they cannot operate those due to lack of skilled manpower.

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