CHATTOGRAM: Around 4.0 million (40 lakh) people of coastal belt in Chattogram and Cox's Bazar are living in high risk of natural disaster as the two districts and the port city lacks adequate numbers of cyclone shelters.
Besides, many cyclone shelters in the two districts are being used as schools since those were constructed as school-cum-cyclone shelter centres or multipurpose centres for use as both educational institutions and cyclone shelters.
Sources said there are 880 cyclone shelters in the two southeastern districts, 418 in Chattogram and 462 in Cox's Bazar, which can accommodate over 4.0 million people during the natural disaster.
Headmasters of the schools are the custodians of the school-cum-cyclone shelters and keys of the multipurpose centres were handed over to them after their inauguration to keep those under their safe custody so that the concerned authority of the local administration can quickly shift people of the low-lying coastal areas to the centres for safety after unlocking those during a natural disaster or calamity.
However, it is alleged that the centres cannot be used as cyclone shelters during the natural disaster as the school headmasters don't hand over the keys of the centres to the concerned administration officials or local people's representatives during an emergency.
As a result, the residents of the low-lying coastal belt and the cyclone-prone city areas often have to remain in high risks of falling victim to the natural disaster for want of a key.
According to the locals, most of the inhabitants of the locality cannot take shelter at the existing cyclone shelters due to lack of space in those centres or unavailability of the key during emergency when a cyclone approaches or makes landfall on the shore.
They said, people of Anwara, Banshkhali, Sitakunda, Mirsarai, Swandip upazilas of Chattogram and the port city's Patenga, Halishahar and Karnaphuli river bank areas, Cox's Bazar's Teknaf, Kutubdia, Moheshkhali, Mongnama, Pakua and the offshore island of Saint Martin's are living in high risk of natural disasters like cyclone and tsunami.
Sources said there are 62 cyclone shelters in Sandwip, 58 in Anwara and 117 in Banshkhali upazilas. Besides, Sitakunda has 59 cyclone shelters-cum-schools, Patiya 13, Mirsarai 75, Boalkhali 08, Chandanaish 05, Satkania and Rangunia 03 each, and Fatikchhari and Raozan 02 each, apart from the port city's 72 school-cum-cyclone shelters that can accommodate 52,700 people.
Mohammed Wakar Uddin, a resident of the city's Patenga, said, "April 29 (1991) tragedy is still fresh in our memory.
