Many families have lost their homes in the remote Garjania and Kawarkhop unions of Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar, due to the recent floods and the severe erosion of the Bankkhali river, and are facing an extreme humanitarian crisis. The last assets of their lives have disappeared into the river. The affected people are spending their days in uncertainty after losing a place to lay their heads.

The houses of several families, including Abu Taleb, Abu Jafar, Mostaq, Abu Hannan, Gafur and the mentally unstable Jannat Ara, in the East Bomangkhil area of Ward No. 7 of Garjania union, have disappeared into the river. Some have taken refuge in relatives’ houses, while others are temporarily spending their days under the open sky. In such a situation, Agrajatra and Coast Foundation stood by the affected people in the remote border areas on Friday (July 24).

The two organizations jointly distributed emergency relief materials to the extremely poor and underprivileged families affected by floods and river erosion in Gorjania and Kawarkhop unions. In addition to distributing relief, representatives of the two organizations visited the areas affected by river erosion. Relief materials were delivered to the homes of families who had lost their homes or were still at risk of erosion, and information on the damage was collected.

Present at the relief distribution program were Agrajatra CEO Neelima Akhter Chowdhury, Assistant Director of Coast Foundation Md. Jahangir Alam, Director of Agrajatra Mohammad Helal Uddin, Reserved Women Member of Wards 7, 8 and 9 Sajeda Begum, prominent social worker Nurul Amin, local public representatives, volunteers and community members.

Agrajatra Chief Executive Officer Neelima Akhter Chowdhury said, “Many families in this area have lost their homes and security not only due to the floods but also due to river erosion. Our main goal is to ensure that they are not deprived of humanitarian assistance due to inaccessibility. Today’s assistance is very small compared to the needs. Long-term initiatives are necessary for the rehabilitation of the affected families.”

Assistant Director of Coast Foundation Md. Jahangir Alam said, “Coordinated initiatives of local organizations, administration, donor agencies and development partners are needed for the safe rehabilitation and restoration of livelihoods of the families affected by river erosion. Not only immediate relief, but also long-term plans for house reconstruction, safe relocation and livelihood restoration are necessary.”

“In line with the ‘Leave No One Behind’ principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our commitment is to reach the most remote and vulnerable people first,” said Mohammad Helal Uddin, Director of Agrajatra. We are working to ensure that no family living in border and remote areas is left out of humanitarian assistance,” said Mohammad Helal Uddin, Director of Agrajatra.

The organizers said that the affected families need urgent measures to provide food, clean water, safe shelter, house repairs, cash assistance, livelihood and livestock restoration, river erosion prevention, and rehabilitation of damaged rural infrastructure.

To this end, Agrajatra and Coast Foundation have called on donor agencies, development partners, humanitarian organizations, embassies, and the private sector to come forward to provide emergency assistance and rehabilitation to this remote community.