Uncertainty

In the late afternoon, Pramila Mandal was sitting alone on the bank of Shakbaria river near Sundarbans. The sight is towards his old homestead, which is submerged in water after the dam broke in Cyclone Ampan.

The 45-year-old woman said she had seen her house broken into many times in her life. How many times he could not say that precisely. His family has been living in a house next to a fence since he lost his home in Ampan last May. When the storm comes again, it will be there or not, the fear arose in his words.

Premila is a resident of Antihara village in Dakshin Bedkashi union of Koyra upazila of Khulna. The dam he was sitting on was newly built. There was another dam about 300 yards away, next to which was their house. There are still some traces of homestead, which can be seen at low tide.

The main reason for leaving the coastal area is the uncertainty of living. If there is a sustainable dam, people will at least have a place to put their head in their vita. With that assurance, the tendency to leave the area and go elsewhere will decrease.

Law Nishat, Professor Emeritus, BRAC University

In the last decade and a half, cyclones Sidr, Aila, Mahasen and the latest Ampan have hit the coastal areas like Pramila. Once aristocratic families have lost land and resources and become poor. From September 27 to October 3, more than 30 villages in at least 10 unions in the coastal areas of Khulna and Bagerhat were visited to see the picture of human life struggle. While walking around the village, almost everyone heard about an uncertain future. Locals also said that many people have left the area as they could not survive the disaster. Many are on the way out.

Talks with Premila Mandal took place on September 28. Next to the embankment he was sitting on, there were small huts made of golpata and bamboo. Some are ripe again. The houses are new. They were made after Ampan's injury. There is no roughness of nature in the area as there is a lot of vegetation around Antihara village due to sweet water. But the picture is different in many surrounding villages. Due to salinity, the people of those villages have to struggle for drinking water.

According to the locals, the river water is high in salt, so there is not much paddy or other crops in the area. More fish enclosures. But very few people are employed there. The main livelihood of most people is to collect pollen, fish and crabs by drowning in waist water all day long.

Shamsur Rahman, chairman of Dakshin Bedkashi Union, said the Sundarbans surrounds the union on three sides. That is why any small or big natural calamity strikes first in that union. He said there are a total of 26 km embankment in South Bedkashi. People have been stranded for more than four years after the dam broke during Ayla. At that time only 10 percent of the houses survived. He added that after Ayla, about two and a half thousand families had to leave the area.

Life in the tide

In at least four villages, including Kathmarchar and Kashirhatkhola in Uttar Bedkashi Union of Koyra Upazila, people's lives depend on the tides. Road communication with the villages is almost cut off. If the water rises at high tide, they have to navigate by boat. The work of cooking and responding to the call of nature has to be done before the river water rises.

A paved road from Pratapnagar Bazar and Union Parishad leads to Satkhira Sadar. At one place (culvert area) the road is broken and river water is entering. The only way to get around is by trawler or boat. Water Development Board officials say deep canals have been created in the broken dam area due to high tides. Repairs are not possible until the end of the rainy season.

Dilip Kumar Dutta, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Khulna University, told Prothom Alo that the topography of the coastal areas of Bangladesh is brand new. As the amount of salt in the water increases, the soil particles lose their ability to hold on to each other, that is, they crumble. As a result, erosion is increasing and the dams are not standing. He recommended raising the ground through free tide (TRM) to overcome the situation.

People have been stranded for more than four years after the dam broke in Aila. About two and a half thousand families have had to leave the area after Ayla.

Shamsur Rahman, Chairman, South Bedkashi Union Parishad

People outside the area are not good

A resident of Jorsing village of South Bedkashi Union who lost his home after cyclone Ayla said. Hamid lived on the dam for a year. Then he moved to Khulna with his family. At present he lives in a rented house in Khulna city. Hamid drives a rickshaw. The wife works as a housemaid in someone else's house. He said many families from Koira moved to Khulna at that time. Most of them drive rickshaws and work as day laborers.

Abul Hossain Gazi and his elder brother Abu Bakkar Gazi live at the end of Konapara of Fakir in Kalabagi village of Dakop. Their parents are not alive. However, grandmother and a disabled uncle live with them. The island where the two brothers live is an island almost isolated from the mainland. Shibsa river on one side of the island and Sutarkhali river on the other side. Sundarbans on the other two sides. The only way to get around them is by boat. Although this was not the case before Ampan. It has suddenly become isolated due to the violence of Ampan.

Going there by boat, it can be seen that the tidal water is splashing around the small yard including the house. A small boat on the river. Fishing nets have been provided to dry in the yard. What is meant by a toilet is a golpata house hanging in the river a little away from the yard. Sanko has been made with bamboo to go there. Put drinking water in a few large plastic drums in one corner of the yard.

Abul Hossain's grandmother Kulsum Begum is about 70 years old. He said they had 12 bighas of land in the area about 25 years ago. They used to cultivate shrimp and fish in the river. Once the breakdown began. Now he is living by buying 20 acres of land for 5,000 rupees.

Rain is the only source of potable water for the people of the area. Homes have plastic drums. Rainwater is retained there. When they run out, they have to buy water from other places. There is no treatment. If someone suddenly falls ill, they cannot be rushed to the hospital. The only high-speed vehicle is the trawler. It has been seen that the only primary school in the area is also on the verge of disappearing into the river. The mosque is also collapsing.

The hand of erosion is also in the port town

This time I set off for Bagerhat, another district on the coast, through Koira and Dakop in Khulna. Mongla upazila has the second largest seaport in the country. A part of Chilabazar of Chila Union of that district has been washed away by the river Pashur. Various areas in the vicinity are also facing erosion. Many are somehow living on the banks of the river. Again many have left the area.

According to the Water Development Board, about half a kilometer of Kalabagi village has been washed away by the river in the last 20 years. Some parts of Gunari village have gone to Shibsa river. Besides, dams in Koyra, Shyamnagar, Asashuni Mongla areas have broken about 50 to 300 meters. Erosion continues in other areas along the river.

People looking for work

It is very easy to reach Asashuni upazila of Satkhira from Koira by crossing Dashahalia ferry via Maharajpur. On September 30, at around 8.30 am, four people were seen waiting for the ferry to cross. One of them, Babul Ghazi (23), had a spade in his hand. In Nakla village of Pratapnagar union of Bari upazila. A few days ago he went to Khulna in search of work. Not getting back home again.

Babul Ghazi said, ‘Day labor in Khulna has decreased a lot now. After waiting for a few days, I had to come back as I could not find any work. Allowing fishing in the sea in mid-October. Now I am thinking of joining the fishing team. '

As there is no employment in the area, people from different areas of Koira are seen preparing to go to work in the brick kiln. Most of the teenagers and young men go to work in the brickyard every year. Many even moved to the brickyard with their families. Many have already taken money from the Sardar in advance to run the family.

'Sustainable dam needed'

Sustainable and permanent embankments are the first thing that comes to mind when looking for solutions for the survival of the people of the coast. People in those areas say they have learned to fight nature by birth. Due to this, big storms cannot keep them down. But when the river dam broke, they lost their morale. Because, it makes them disappear, they don't even have the strength to deal with it.

Ainun Nishat, a river expert and Emeritus Professor at BRAC University, thinks the main reason for leaving the coastal area is the uncertainty of living. If there is a sustainable dam, people will at least have a place to put their heads in their own vita. With that assurance, the tendency to leave the area and go elsewhere will decrease. And he thinks there needs to be an overall plan for job creation around the coast.