AILA VICTIMS ARE LEAVING CYCLONE SHELTERS,BUT THE ARE BECOME SHELTERLESS.

Victims of cyclone Aila taking pure drinking water from a watertank.

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Concern for a dwelling place grips most of the people who went to cyclone centres or safe places before the May 25 cyclone Aila hit the southern region, as the storm washed away their modest homes.
The Aila victims, who have started returning homes after several days of stay at the shelter centres, are frustrated to find nothing left for their use.
Meanwhile, diarrhoea has spread alarmingly in Satkhira district as the affected people are now compelled to drink polluted water.
Around 1.25 lakh people went to cyclone shelter centres before the cyclone.
“We were on the road for over a week. When we returned home four days ago, we found nothing left for use. We just put up a plastic shed on the yard to pass nights,” said Naosher Ali, 35, of Bharbharia village of Atulia, which is still reeling under water.
Ali, a landless day labourer, said now that all the shrimp enclosures are under water, there is no work and he has to depend fully on relief materials provided by the government or NGOs.
“But, what about my house? When there is rain, we have to run to others' houses for shelter. But there is rarely any liveable house nearby,” he said.
During a visit to Mollapara and Bharbharia villages in Atulia union of Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira on Sunday, this correspondent saw people sitting beside their ruined houses.
NGOs are now trying to reach remote areas like Padmapukur, Barapukur, Pakkhimari, Kamalkathi that saw scanty relief materials so far.
Golam Mostafa, Satkhira District Manager of Brac's Health Programme, said they were providing food packets each containing 5 kg rice, one kg dal, half kg oil, half kg salt, one kg potato, matches, four oral saline packets to a family.
“We got inadequate relief materials. Above all, passing nights has become difficult for our five-member family,” said Abdul Jalil, another homeless person at Mollapara village.
It is difficult for him to go out to collect relief as there is water all around, he said.
Thousands of landless and homeless people have similar stories to tell.
According to preliminary official figure, around 2.5 lakh houses were fully damaged, around four lakh houses partially damaged and over 10 lakh livestock were killed by cyclone Aila, which hit hard Shyamnagar and Ashashuni in Satkhira, Koira and Dakope in Khulna, Charfashion and Monpura in Bhola and Galachipa and Kalapara upazilas in Patuakhali.
The Army and other government departments are working to repair the embankments, but intrusion of water during the high tide disturbs the work.