This article was first published 16 years ago

Aila's terrible human toll in Sunderbans

June 4, 2009 17:13 IST

Image: Homeless villagers reach out for aid material in Khulna, Sunderbans
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

Thousands of Villagers in Sunderbans have been displaced from their homes by a tidal wave caused by Cyclone Aila.

Image: A child waits for aid in Khulna
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

Cyclone Aila has hit parts of coastal Bangladesh and West Bengal, triggering tidal surges and floods and destroying thousands of homes.

Image: A house destroyed by Cyclone Aila at Borotushkhali in Sunderbans
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

The cyclone has claimed nearly 160 lives so far, and locals claim that the unofficial toll is much higher.

Image: Villagers sit amidst the remains of their homes in Borotushkhali
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

The cyclone has left over 200,000 homeless.

Image: Villagers sit amidst the remains of their houses
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

In the aftermath of the disaster, a human tragedy is unfolding every moment.

Image: Villagers queue up for drinking water at Khulna in Sunderbans
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

Tardy relief machinery has failed to cover the remote villages where thousands now wait for dry food, water pouches and clothes.

Image: Villagers in Khulna wait for the food packets
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

Hunger and water-borne diseases are claiming more victims in Sunderbans villages.

Image: Villagers queue up for drinking water at Sarbaria in Sunderbans
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

Aid agencies and government officials say that over 50 lakh people are suffering in the region.

Image: A house destroyed by Cyclone Aila in Korakhati, Sunderbans
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

Cyclone Aila has hit one of the most underdeveloped areas in Bengal, where survival includes tacking extreme poverty and a regular onslaught of floods and Tiger attacks.

Image: Villagers sit amidst the remains of their homes in Borotushkhali
Photographs: Bijoy Chowdhury/India Blooms

On a visit to the cyclone-hit areas on Tuesday, Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was heckled and jeered at by the locals, who demanded to know what the Left Front government had done for the Sunderbans during its 32-year rule.