Two years on poor getting poorer in Aila-affected areas

SATKHIRA, May 23 (UNB) : Although two years have passed since the devastating cyclone Aila hit in the coastal regions, no significant change has been brought into the lives of Aila-affected people, who are still looking to the unknown destination. The middle-income group has become poor and the poor are now even poorer. Aila carries a heavy burden of poverty with more than a half the population in affected areas living below the poverty line. Abdur Rahman, a resident of Shyamnagar, said that he and his family members have been living with poverty after the cyclone, which claimed a large amount of crop field. "After Alia, tide water inundated our crop land, which was the only source of our livelihood, due to the damaged embankment. We lost our crop lands and are living with poverty," he said. The Aila-affected communities are extremely poor due to loss of income, livelihood and homestead from the cyclone. Middle income groups, with productive land and a livelihood before Aila hit, have now fallen into poverty as they have lost all assets and are unable to use their land due to salinity or inundation. The victims said that limited alternative livelihood options forced them to re-start shrimp farming, one of the most potent livelihood sources in the area. Before Aila, 48 per cent of the land was used for shrimp culture. Now it is increased to 70 per cent as other alternative livelihoods are not available. Normally the owner of the shrimp gher (farm) is living in the sub-district but operates the gher from a distance. Land mortgage is a common system (locally call 'hari neoa'), locals said, which business owners normally avail to increase gher size. The tendency observed in the affected areas is to take mortgage with a reduced price and use the money to start shrimp culture. A marginal farmer with a limited livelihood option is unable to cope with the current shocks. In order to feed family members the farmer is forced to take a reduced mortgage from the shrimp gher owner. The owners of shrimp gher businesses are taking full advantage of this situation and increasing their land. Now gher land has increased to 70 per cent by putting extra pipes in the newly constructed embankments, allowing salt water to enter the embankment. Cyclone Aila hit the coastal area in May 2009. For nearly two years the situation of the Aila-affected families did not change significantly due to lack of repairs and reconstruction of the embankment. In February 2011, the Bangladesh Water Development Board was able to repair all broken sections, except one located in Hareshkhali, Dakhin Bedkashi, Khulna District. With the successful repair of the embankment, families who were living on embankment started to return home. Unfortunately, not all families were able to return as of the assessment date (March 2011), leaving approximately 10,906 households (54,530 individuals) still living on the embankment and outside of ring embankment, according to Oxfam's Bangladesh office.