Tornado victims still under open sky
A farmer gives a bleak look, sitting on the floor of his blown off house at Golbunia village in Kalapara upazila under Patuakhali district, right, the structure of Purbo Tiakhali Registered Primary School in the same upazila lies in a mangled form after a tornado hit the area on April 7. Photo: STAR
Over a thousand tornado-hit people of two villages in Champapur union under Kalapara upazila are living under the open sky as they are yet to get any relief from any government and non-government organisations. The storm swept over Golbunia and Chalitabunia villages on April 7, totally damaging at least 30 houses while 200 others partially. Four-month-old Bashar, son of Bashir Howlader of Golbunia, who sustained severe injuries during the tornado, died on Tuesday night. Over a hundred of students of different primary and high schools and colleges, who lost their books during the tornado, face serious trouble as their first terminal examinations will begin tomorrow. “Nothing could be saved. All the books and study materials of mine and my only brother, who is a student of class three, have been lost”, said Tanzila, a class six student of MU High School of Golbunia. Housewife Julekha Begum, 30, said she could not cook as their household tools including earthen woven were damaged in the storm. “Now we are passing days in misery as there is no sign of any relief as yet”, she added. Most of the villagers are now living under the open sky, said another victim, Kuddus Howlader. Frustration gripped the farmers as watermelon on several hundred acres got fully or partially damaged. The storm hit the fields at the peak hour of marketing of the juicy fruit, lamented several watermelon farmers. Al Amin Talukder said he spent Tk 73, 000 to cultivate watermelon on his 5 acres of land and expected to earn Tk over 2 lakh this year. “But the tornado shattered all my dreams”, he added. Bodiur Rahman Banti, administrator of Champapur UP, said over 100 families of the villages, hit by the storm, are living under the open sky as no relief reached the spot. Contacted, UNO Dedare Alam Mohammad Maksud Chowdhury said they have already prepared a list of the storm-hit victims and wrote to the authorities, seeking relief.
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