About 57,000 inhabitants of Nijhum Dwip in Noakhali have been facing trouble as the high tide has left the remote island inundated for a week, reports bdnews24.com.
The high tide flooded houses, roads and small streets, washed away fish hatcheries and drowned domestic animals. Parts of the island have experienced an acute shortage of safe-drinking water and food. In many households, people are unable to light their stoves to cook as those are already submerged.
In 2001, the government announced a national forest on 40,390 acres of land in Nijhum Dwip. The forest is now home to 5,000 deer.
Following the high tide, the forest went 5 feet underwater, said SM Saifur Rahman, a forest official.
Herds of deer left the forest and took refuge on higher ground. Some of them were washed away by strong currents. The high tide damaged trees in a 50-hectare area.
The island situated between the Bay of Bengal and the Meghna River has no embankment surrounding it, which made it vulnerable to the high tide, said Union Parishad Chairman Mehraj Uddin.
"The Nijhum Dwip had never faced such tidal water. Therefore, no need for an embankment was ever felt. However, this time the tidal surge was abnormally high that submerged most of the area. Now it is time to rethink about making an embankment around the island," Mehraj Uddin said, citing Deputy Commissioner Khorshed Alam Khan.
At least 5,000 cattle and fisheries worth Tk 30 million were washed away in floods in the past week, said Mehraj.
The island-wide communication system, including roads and small walkways built over the past 20 years, were affected, adding to the woes of the islanders.
A large amount of allocation is needed to build an embankment around Nijhum Dwip, said Nasir Uddin, executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Noakhali. The government is yet to take any decision, he said.
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