C T Online Desk: At least 10,000 families are still living on the risky pockets and slopes of hills in different parts of Sylhet, risking their lives to fall easy prey to landslides during the ongoing monsoon.
Rampant flattening of hills and rainwater-saturated soil increased the risk of landslides in various parts of the popular tourist destination.
On 10 June, three members of a family died when part of a hill collapsed on them in Majortila area of Sylhet city. Four others were injured in the incident.
The deceased were identified as Agha Karim Uddin, 31, his wife Shammi Akhter Ruji, 25, and their child Nafji Tanim.
The four injured were admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.
After about six hours of operations, the bodies were recovered with the help of the army.
Every year, there are casualties in Sylhet as a result of such landslides, yet there is no end to the precarious life at the foot of the dunes. There are also questions about the role of the administration in this context.
There is no official list of how many people live at the foothills of Sylhet, but approximately 10,000 families live at the foothills.
Poor people live in the foothills, mainly because of low or no rent. Some groups clear or occupy the hills by building houses at the foot of the hills and offering low rents to the landless.
However, in 2012, a Supreme Court ruling on the conservation of the Sylhet Hills directed the rehabilitation of the poor people living on the hills and at the foothills.
Abdul Karim Kim, secretary general of Bangladesh Environment Movement (Bapa) Sylhet, said, “Hillsides are being cut indiscriminately in Sylhet. Settlements for low-income people are built at the foot of the hills as a technique of hill cutting. Hundreds of thousands of people live near these hills. As a result, several deaths have occurred due to landslides in recent years.”
Jago Tila is a hill in the Howladarpara area of Sylhet city. A few houses are lined up along the very edge of this high hill. Just below the upstairs apartments, there are also some houses at the foot of the hill.
All households living on hills and slopes are at risk. They have lived here for years, and they fear for their lives.
According to the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Sylhet Nagar, Sadar, Gopalganj, Beanibazar, Fenchuganj, Jaintapur, and Gowainghat upazilas have around 400 hills, and many families live in uncertainty on and at the foot of these hills.
The dunes have also been weakened by the felling of large parts of these hillocks for habitation. As a result, they collapse during the monsoon season and cause loss of life.
Hundreds of families have been found living dangerously at the foothills of several hills in Howladarpara, Akhalia, Peermahalla Brahminshasan Jahangirnagar, Tarapur Tea Garden and Baluchar, Airport Road, Khadimpara, Khadimnagar, Jonaki, Islampur Majortila, and Monglirpar areas of the city.
Moreover, thousands of families live in the foothills and hills of Jaintapur, Gopalganj, Beanibazar, Gowainghat, and Companiganj upazilas.
It is known that the district administration does not take into account how many people are living dangerous lives.
There is no government initiative or project for the restoration or conservation of the dunes. Rather, there are many projects that involve destroying the dunes.
Due to the inaction of the government, these accidents and losses of life happen again and again.
Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Russel Hasan claimed that even if it takes a lot of effort, the residents cannot be relocated to the foot of the hill.
“Last year, the district administration, together with the NGOs, asked the people living at the foot of the hills to move to safety. But no one listened,” he added.
According to sources, a child died in a landslide in Sylhet Sadar upazila on 7 October 2023 while four people of the same family died in Jaintapur upazila on 6 June 2022.
