Rajshahi Correspondent:

220 flood-affected families of the Padma River’s char areas in Rajshahi’s Bagha upazila have received 10 kg of rice each.

The rice was distributed among families in the Atarpara, Choumadia and Diarkadirpur chars of the Chokrajapur Union on Wednesday morning.

The Padma River’s water level has been rising for a week and over the past two days, water has accumulated in the yards of almost every house in 15 chars, making life difficult for the residents.

After the flood victims informed Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shammi Akter, the Deputy Commissioner allocated 10 kg of rice for 220 families. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer personally distributed the rice by boat to the families in the affected char areas.

Aklima Begum from Choumadia char, came to collect the relief, said, “My house has been flooded for a week and the water level is rising daily. My cooking stove is submerged. I couldn’t cook, so I bought bread from a nearby market in a ‘dunga’ (small boat) and ate that in the morning. I don’t have a place to cook lunch and I don’t know what I will eat.”

Chokrajapur Union Parishad Ward No. 2 member Abdur Rahman Darji said that Atarpara, Choumadia and Diarkadirpur are the three lowest-lying wards among the 15 chars of Chokrajapur union. These three wards have about 750 families and a population of about 3,050. He added that these people are the most vulnerable and poor.

Rajshahi Water Development Board gauge reader Enamul Haque said that the water level of the Padma River was 17.49 metres, with the danger level being 18.05 metres at 12:00 PM on Wednesday.

The water is currently flowing 0.56 centimetres below the danger level but it could cross the danger mark at any time, he added.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shammi Akter said, “I felt happy to hand over the rice directly to the helpless people who were waiting for me with their ‘dunga’s in the water, including men, women, the elderly and children.”

“Every year at this time, the river’s water rises and the houses and crops of the char people are submerged; that stops their work. Providing assistance to the people of this remote char was a big challenge but the highest effort was made to assist them,” she added.