Onrush from Indian river deteriorating conditions in northeastern region, says official
\nDHAKA
\nThe death toll from floods in Bangladesh rose to 73 with five people killed in the last 24 hours, officials said Friday.
\nThe disaster in parts of the country is deteriorating due to the onrush from upstream in India.
\nForty-nine fatalities were reported from drowning while the rest died in flood-related cases, including lightning strikes, snake bites, diarrhea, skin diseases and landslides.
\nMillions are still inundated and stranded in remote areas as they wait with children and the elderly for relief items.
\nRina Begum, 45, a resident of a remote area of Balaganj sub-district in the northeastern border district of Sylhet, has been living at the house of a neighbour with her five children.
\nThe widow left her mud house more than a week ago.
\n\u201cI haven\u2019t had any material relief until now. There is no way to move from here to any nearby shelter as the communication system has fully collapsed,\u201d Begum told Anadolu Agency with the help of a mobile phone of a relative.
\nLike Begum, hundreds of thousands of people in flood-hit remote areas have been stranded for more than a week without relief.
\nMohammad Shajahan, 40, has been stranded in another remote part of Balaganj with his three daughters in his mud house which is at risk of being washed away.
\n\u201cIs it our sin to give birth in this area in a poor family?\u201d Shajahan asked while speaking to Anadolu Agency.
\n\u201cWe have been surviving for the last couple of days just drinking rainwater. We want a permanent solution to this disaster,\u201d he said, underlining the plight of residents in the area.
\nDifficulty in reaching relief goods
\nDeputy Commissioner of Sylhet, Md. Mojibur Rahman, told Anadolu Agency that the government has allocated ample relief items for affected people. But due to the communication disruption, some stranded in the remote areas could not be reached.
\n\u201cWe have allocated 1,400 metric tons of rice and hand cash of 270 million Bangladeshi Taka ($3 million) and 13,000 packets of dry food only for Sylhet district. All other affected districts have been provided almost the same,\u201d said Rahman.
\nHe said officials could not reach distant areas due to the depth of floodwaters and a complete disruption of communication.
\n\u201cToday we visited a remote area in Balaganj. Some people came to us crossing waist-deep water. We did not get down anywhere in the area as there was no dry land,\u201d he said.
\nIndian onrush worsening floods
\nThe worst flood in the 100 years in the country\u2019s northeastern region has improved slightly in parts but is still deteriorating in others.
\n\u201cThe water level in the River Surma is slightly decreasing while the water in Kushiara part is increasing due to the flow of water coming from upstream Barak River of India,\u201d said Rahman.
\nThe River Barak, a major river in India, has flown through the states of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam and entered Bangladesh from the northeastern border.
\nTo date, the worsening floods have affected 13 districts in Bangladesh, marooning huge croplands and affecting life for millions of people \u2014 many of whom experienced another massive flood last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Onrush from Indian river deteriorating conditions in northeastern region, says official DHAKA The death toll from floods in Bangladesh rose to 73 with five people killed in the last 24 hours, officials said Friday. The disaster in parts of the country is deteriorating due to the onrush from upstream in India. Forty-nine fatalities were reported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[432,9010,612],"class_list":{"0":"post-268173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-bangladesh","9":"tag-death-toll","10":"tag-floods"},"yoast_head":"\n