Anowara Begum is a resident of Telikhal village in Companiganj upazila of Sylhet. There was knee-high water in her house on last Thursday afternoon. This increased to waist high in no time. As her own boat had been stolen, she managed a boat from someone else and came to the shelter centre with her family in the evening.
At the second floor of Telikhal High School shelter at around 11.00am on Sunday, it was seen Anowara was trying to dry some wet rice grain, spreading the grains on a bed sheet.
She said, two of her sons had borrowed a boat and gone to their house in the morning. They salvaged the rice stored in their house from under the water. That’s all they have left now.
In the yard of this shelter, Neheru Begum (50) was washing some muddy clothes in the floodwater. Her teenage daughter Tayefa was helping her.
Neheru said, they lost everything in the floods. Even their house was gone. In the morning, their clothes were found on the branches of a tree next to the house. The clothes, beddings and some utensils are the only belongings that are left in their household of five members.
Alongside Telikhal High School, Telikhal Primary School and Darus Sunnah Muhammadia Madrasa are also being used as shelter centres. However, more people took shelter in Telikhal High School. There were nine cows tied to the porch of the three-storey building.
Meanwhile, people of three villages were crammed inside the next four rooms. People of different ages were seen busy in their own activities right beside those cows. Rooms on the first floor are also filled with flood-affected people. The rooms on the second floor don’t have doors or windows. People are living in them, barring the doorways and windows with tin sheets.
Debendra Biswas (60), a resident of Lama Deski village of Uttar Ronikhai union has taken shelter inside one of these rooms. He earns his livelihood by fishing. But, everything including his fishing nets and house got washed up in the floodwater.
He said, there are crises of food and pure water in the shelter. All are drinking the floodwater. Besides, there are no toilet facilities either. On Saturday, the water level inside the shelter was also knee-high. That water receded on Sunday.
After moving forward some way on the Sylhet-Companiganj highway from Sylhet city via the airport road, all one can see on both sides of the road is water. After Chalia of the Sadar upazila, there comes Salutikar bazar of Gowainghat upazila.
Till Saturday evening, the Salutikar-Companiganj highway remained disconnected because of floodwater. As the water level has started to decrease, vehicular movement has resumed on a limited scale. However, at two points water is still flowing over the road with high force. So, vehicles are moving riskily on this road.
Companiganj’s Barni area is about a kilometer away from Salutikar. Water is passing with heavy current over an area of almost 200 metres. Transport is still moving there. One can reach Telikhal village after crossing Barni Haor in boats.
Quite a few houses could have been noticed on the way, all of which have been submerged now. There are no roofs or walls in many of them. Residents of those houses have moved to safety.
Soleman Mia (35) was going to see his flooded house by boat. He said, there was chest-high water in his house on Thursday. Later, they had to leave on a boat after lifting all their belongings on the beds.
14 of them had taken shelter at Salutikar Bazar after drifting for a while on a boat. At that time, they suffered the most because of the food crisis. They bought a kg of rice for each meal, he added.
Compnaiganj’s Thanabazar area is nine kilometers away by road from Telikhal. Three overturned trucks were seen lying at intervals in the water by this road. Makeshift cowsheds have been made out of sacks on the bridges to keep the cattle.
Visiting the upazila parishad, Companiganj, Thanabazar TNT road areas on a boat from Thanabazar it was seen that the water of Dholai river is flowing at a height of four to five feet over the nearby areas including the bazar.
All the shops on the Thanabazar TNT road have been submerged under water. The same goes for the upazila parishad. Even the tube-wells in that area are under water.
Boats are the only medium of transport in the surrounding area including Companiganj upazila parishad. The whole upazila is devoid of electricity. The mobile phone networks keep fluctuating as well.
A jetty for boats has been set up right beside the Companiganj-Bholaganj road. From there, local people were seen moving towards their destination by boat.
All the houses in Companiganj bazar area have been inundated. People who lived on the ground floor of two or three-storied buildings have shifted to the upper tiers.
Ayesha Begum (48) and Halima Begum (26) were having their meals, taking shelter on the ground floor of a building at Thanabazar area. They said, they left their house a week ago. They found shelter on that building but, didn’t receive any aid from anywhere.
While returning to Companiganj Sadar police station area at around 2.00pm, several youth were seen transporting 200 packets of dry food for the flood-affected people by boat.