Downpour over the past few days may trigger landslides in different hilly regions of Chattogram division, officials warned.
If the rain, coupled with gusty wind continues pounding Chattogram Hill Tracts, thousands of people living on the slopes of hills in those areas may fall victim to landslides, as unauthorized hill cutting and use of public land have not been stopped as yet.
As such illegal activities and risky living could not be stopped, landslides in those areas claim many lives every year.
Over loudspeakers, local administrations have already asked people to leave the risky hilly areas to protect themselves from landslides that have become commonplace in the monsoon season with the most deaths occurring in the Chattogram region in 2007 and 2017.
In 12 June, 2007 the death toll was reported at 128, including at least 59 children, with more than 150 injured. On 12-13 June 2017, 110 people were killed in a landslide in Rangamati, and a total of 158 people including 23 in Chattogram district. In the past 20 years, at least 1000 people have been killed in such incidents, most of them in Chattogram city areas .
Local administrations are now busy dealing with continuous heavy rain. Under the supervision of Chattogram district administration, loudspeaker announcements are already underway in the Bayezid-Faujdarhat CDA Link Road area adjacent to the Asian Women's University, including 17 risky hills in the Chattogram City areas, to make people aware.
To avert loss of life and property, a total of 19 shelters have been set up in Chattogram city areas to ensure safe residence with social distance in the coronavirus pandemic period to people who live in danger in risky hilly areas.
S M Zakaria, Member Secretary of Divisional Hill Management committee and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram said, “People are being urged to take shelter in safe places through miking from local mosques, before and after prayers and according to the intensity of the rain.
Emergency food and water are provided in these shelters, though no one had come to the shelters till noon on Wednesday. If the residents do not move from risky places, they will face accidents at any moment, he added.
According to administrations, in Chattogram metropolitan area, at least 1000 families have to be evicted urgently from the slopes of 17 risky hills, where thousands of families live.
People are living with risk to life in Motijharna, Batali Hill, AK Khan Pahar, Tankir Pahar, Amin Jute Mills Area, Raufabad, Khulshi, Pahartali, Foy’s Lake Akbar Shah Area, Lake-1,2,3 Area, Jianagar, Madyam Nagar, Mujib Nagar, Shantinagar Area, Kaibalyadham World Colony area, Feroz Shah area, Forest Research Institute area, and Bayazid-Faujdarhat CDA Link Road areas of the city.
As the meteorological office says there could be more rain in the coming days, miking activities will be carried out to evacuate people from the risky hills to safer shelters to protect their lives and property.
Thousands of people live in the hilly areas under contract with a private company and Bangladesh Railway, especially in Lake-1, 2, 3, Jiangar, Madyam Nagar, Mujib Nagar, Shantinagar area, Lake City area under Fayez Lake area under Akbar Shah police station. There are a large number of risky installations across the areas.
Every year, though widespread camping is done for people to leave the areas where landslides happen, they continue living in shanties on the slopes of these hills.
