The road link between Satkhira and Khulna snapped yesterday as the Satkhira-Khulna highway in Noapara of Tala upazila went under two to four feet of water.

People living in the area continue to suffer as 1436 dwellings were either destroyed or partially damaged by rising water. Around 354 families have taken shelter either on the sides of high roads or educational institutions in the area.

The water remains stagnant as the silted Kapotakkha cannot deal with the heavy rush of upstream water. The water-logging in the area is becoming worse every year destroying crops and affecting agriculture production.

The 16 affected villages are: Dhalbaria, Madanpur, Shubhashini, Noapara, Mirzapur, Tersi, Lautara, Jatpur, Kalapota, Tentulia, Dhandia, Nagarghata, Kumira, Islamkati, Magura and Khalishkhali.

Almost 4,000 hectares of newly planted Aman were destroyed and around 865 shrimp enclosures and 1674 lakes and ponds overflowed, sources in the agriculture and fisheries department said.

Scarcity of food and drinking water is prevailing in the area but the government is yet to come forward with aid. Locals fear the food and drinking water situation may worsen after the water recedes and diseases like diarrhoea might break out.

"It's like we are fasting for seven days," Mohammad Ali of Kalapota village said.

"Nobody has come to us with food," Bilkis Begum who took shelter on the Satkhira-Khulna highway said.

On contact, Tala Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mostafizur Rahman said he has written to higher authorities asking them to take measures to mitigate the sufferings of the affected people.

While talking to The Daily Star, engineer Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, president district Awami League, criticised the administration for not reacting to the situation with adequate relief supplies.