Tourist boats now turned into vessels for relief

The houseboats that set sail on the wetlands every monsoon for dreamy holidays in the country's haors are now housing people, whose homes have been flooded, and delivering aid to those marooned.

Throughout the year Anirban Boat plies the rivers of Khulna. When Sunamganj was flooded in May, the boat set sail from the south, taking five days to travel cross-country and reach the inundated north.

"We started our rescue operations last Wednesday and for the first three days we were rescuing people from flooded homes and taking them to shelters," said Joydeb Kumar Bhadra, an additional deputy inspector general of police.

In normal times, the boat's business funds a library which was founded by Bhadra in Khulna's Paikgachha.

Currently the boat is being used for free by those attached with relief work.

An organisation called e-Tourism Association of Bangladesh has a fleet of around 50 boats.

The day the floods hit was a full moon night and the boats were all tucked away in remote corners of the haors carrying tourists.

As floods inundated far-flung homes, these boats became the first responders rescuing the locals.

"Our boats were already at the furthest points, so naturally it was easier for us to carry out rescue operations. Our boats have housed as many as 2,500 people," said Imranul Alam, a coordinator of the association. "Each boat is housing between 70 to 100 people."Alam was speaking on his way to Sunamganj on a boat.

"I was in the Sundarbans with a tour boat when disaster struck. So, we set sail for the haors, picking up relief materials on the way. We have already spent four nights on the water. We are currently in Bhairab," said Alam.

All the boats are housing and feeding people on a voluntary basis, strictly depending on donations. Each of the tourism agencies that are a part of e-Tourism Association of Bangladesh run travel groups on Facebook to promote travelling and arrange tours. These groups are now being mobilised for donations.

"We have raised around Tk 20 lakh from members, and a further Tk 20 lakh from external sources," said Imranul.

Popular social media influencer Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman announced on his Facebook page that he has raised Tk 97 lakh in just 48 hours. "This was the figure in the morning, and I am sure that the donated amount has crossed Tk 1 crore already," said Suman, speaking from Chhatak upazila. He was headed to a madrasa for women, which has been turned into a shelter, to distribute dry food.

Gonoshasthaya Kendra's hospital in Shantiganj of Sunamganj is also housing 2,000 people whose homes have been flooded. GSK has pledged to distribute 100 tonnes of dry food and provide free medical services until the waters recede.

Meanwhile, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) has initially allocated Tk 1.98 crore to distribute emergency food items, water purification tablets and oral rehydration solution packets among the flood victims, said the organisation in a press release.

The relief is being distributed by 11 partner NGOs who are also using their own funds to carry out various aid initiatives.