By IANS
Dhaka : Alleging delay in relief work, nepotism, and corruption, angry cyclone survivors have been staging angry demonstrations in southern Bangladesh which was hit by Cyclone Sidr on Nov 15, media reports said Friday.
Those denied relief at some places have charged that local officials were favouring supporters of one party or the other with an eye on winning votes in elections in the future. However, officials denied any favouritism.
Although relief material has poured in from various sources as part of a multinational effort supplementing that of the government and NGOs, the problem lies in its distribution.
Survivors in many places kept waiting on the roads well into night to get some relief, volunteers and journalists reported from remote areas.
Long queues since early morning have become a common sight in most affected areas where people who lost everything to the cyclone, were yet to get back to normal life.
Demonstrations against irregularities were reported from a number of places, including Barisal and Barguna.
About 300 people of Dakua and Phulkhali at Galachipa in Patuakhali brought out a procession Thursday demanding relief, the New Age newspaper reported.
Witnesses said the demonstrators first gathered at the office of the local upazila (sub-district) officer with allegations of nepotism, irregularities and corruption in relief distribution.
They alleged that the union council chairman and members were distributing relief only among their followers to win favour before elections. An official present at the place managed to control the situation promising relief to all.
The Galachipa Upazila Nirbahi officer, A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed, said although Phulkhali Asrayan was not severely damaged, four tonnes of rice were distributed among the people there on Thursday.
Dakua Union Council Chairman Nesaruddin Gazi brushed aside the allegations of irregularity in relief distribution. He said the demonstration against him was organised by his political rivals.
News agency bdnews24.com reported that hundreds of cyclone-hit villagers in Barguna demonstrated in the district headquarters for the second day Thursday demanding relief.
A fortnight after Sidr had struck the south, hapless people living in remote areas were yet to receive aid, the agency said.
The villagers who joined Thursday’s procession from Dopati told the news agency that they had gone out on demonstrations after waiting patiently for two weeks for relief.
The authorities stopped the procession headed for the deputy commissioner’s office on Sadar Road in Barguna.
The demonstrators returned home after Mohammed Altaf Hossain, the deputy commissioner, and M. Basir Ahmed, the local joint forces commander, promised them relief as soon as possible.
Although most of the relief goods were channelled through the coordination cell set up in Barisal, some private organisations and individuals were distributing relief material to the affected on their own, the New Age report said.