Thousands Offer Eid Prayers Standing in Water

When people of the country observe Eid-ul-Fitr in the middle of the celebrations, many of the residents of the southwestern districts are busy repairing their destroyed houses and the embankments devastated during the 'Amphan' cyclone.   

At Khulna's Koyra Upazila, the cyclone destroyed the bank and flooded a wide expanse of the area, forcing thousands of people to give Eid prayers standing in knee-deep water.

Md Humayun Kabir, Sadar Union Chairman of Koyra Upazila, said the high tidal surge during Wednesday night's cyclone destroyed the reservoir built by the Water Development Board (WDB) to protect the area.

“More than 2,500 people attended the Eid congregation standing in water,” he said adding that thousands more attended two other congregations the same way.

Kabir said he led the first congregation and former Upazila chairman AKM Tomij Uddin led the second one

“Locals tried to repair the embankment voluntarily but failed, and the area is being inundated even during normal tides,” he said.

After attending the Eid congregation, Koyra Upazila Chairman SM Shafiqul Islam said that the Upazila administration had arranged a hotchpotch for the people.

Congratulations to the volunteers for helping in the reconstruction of the branch, he requested the Prime Minister 's participation in creating a viable branch for the welfare of the local community.

Cyclone ‘Amphan’ battered the coastal districts of Bangladesh with a wind speed of up to 180kph and over 10 feet tidal surges.

It has caused serious damage to life, livelihoods, agriculture, infrastructure, the environment, as well as to the largest mangrove forest in the world, the Sundarbans, in the southwestern part of the country.

The unprecedented strong tidal wave reached about 80 percent of the town and destroyed the 40 km bank as it broke at 21 levels. Crops in more than 5,000 acres have been destroyed while 5,000 fish farms have been flooded.

‘Amphan’ destroyed 83,560 houses in nine Upazilas in Khulna leaving over 450,000 people in distress, the district administration said.

Source: UNB