The survivors of the Rangamati landslides of June 13 have started returning to the hills to settle there again amid risks. The district administration had recently ordered the repair of the damaged homes and shut down the temporary shelters the survivors had built. On that day, the owners of totally damaged homes were given Tk. 3,000, two bundles of corrugated iron sheets and 30 kg of rice. The owners of partially damaged homes were given Tk. 1,000.

But some of the people refused to leave the shelters despite orders to turn off water and food supplies. Now, these affected people have started returning to the hills they were forced to leave after massive landslides triggered by heavy rainfall buried many alive on June 13.

A visit to areas like Bhedbedi, Bhedbedi Notun Para, Rupnagar, the outskirts of Sangharam Vihar, Kinamoni Ghona, TV Bhavan and Betar Kendra in Rangamati revealed that every home on the hill slopes has been damaged. Even the drainage system has collapsed; unpaved roads have disappeared, making it dangerous for children to go to school.

“In the aftermath of the disaster in the hills—in which hundreds of homes were obliterated—we were given the assurance of rehabilitation. But that has not happened,” complained Rabeya Begum, 40, one of the survivors.

“Instead, we were forced to leave our shelters. We were forced to live in the wilderness. Where else do we go? We are completely aware of the dangers of resettling here,” she said.

It is the same story for Sonamoni Chakma, 40, of Kinamoni Ghona area. He said he has been spending his nights wherever he can. He has found no place to rebuild his home. He feels bad to return to the place where he lost his wife, children and sister-in-law. But he has no option.

Another survivor, Saiful Islam, 38, a resident of Notun Para, said they were forced to leave all their belongings behind. Now, these are no longer usable. “If it rains hard again, more landslides may occur. But we have no option,” he added.

Rangamati Municipality councillor Robi Mohan Chakma admitted that after the disaster, the administration had said that the affected people would be resettled in risk-free areas. The public representatives were given the task of finding a proper place for that. But no place was available in the town for resettling these people. So, they were given CI sheets, rice, and cash. Meanwhile, local residents said that every hill in the disaster area has become vulnerable again. If it rains, the hills may collapse again. Another tragedy is just waiting to happen if the affected people are not rehabilitated elsewhere.

Gautam Dewan, a former chairman of Rangamati zila parishad, observed that such a disaster had never taken place in the Chittagong Hill Tracts before. The hills are now subject to daily torture. The population is rising, putting pressure on the forests and lands, resulting in indiscriminate cutting of trees and hills without any proper control to protect them. New trees are not being planted at the rate in which the old ones are being cut down. There will be more such tragedies if this situation prevails, Dewan noted.

CHT (South) divisional officer Toufiqul Islam observed that wherever there are landslides, there should be reforestation drives. But no such programme has been undertaken yet, he said, adding that otherwise the hills would be hurt even further.

At the same time, a liveable condition under a forest canopy should be created for the people who settle there, the forest official observed.

“We tried to rehabilitate the affected people. But there is a shortage of land. The floods in the north worsened the rehabilitation situation. But we are keeping an eye on any attempt to rebuild homes in the high-risk areas,” said the deputy commissioner of Rangamati, Manzarul Mannan.

In all, 490 people had taken refuge in 19 temporary shelters in Rangamati town after the June 13 landslides. After the closure of these shelters on September 7, all these people have gone back to the risky areas.

The district administration has given Tk. 20,000 to the families that lost their relatives in the landslides. Recently, the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) paid Tk. 15,200 to the families with completely damaged homes and Tk. 5,000 to those with partially damaged ones.