With burial next to impossible, bereaved families in Feni are sending bodies 'floating' on makeshift rafts

Amidst the devastating floods that have ravaged the Feni district, an unsettling and heartbreaking sight has emerged—bodies of loved ones were seen floating on makeshift banana rafts. 

Due to the lack of dry land for burial and overwhelming flood conditions, families have been forced to abandon traditional funeral rites and float their loved ones in the floodwaters, accompanied by notes requesting burial if the bodies are found.

A local journalist, Nazmul Haque Shamim, reported witnessing one such tragic scene on Saturday (24 August) night. In front of Sonali Bank on Mizan Road in Feni town, he found the body of a five-year-old child floating on a banana raft. Some locals took the body for funeral prayers, but it is unknown where the child was eventually laid to rest.

This heartbreaking scenario is not isolated. On Sunday (25 August), another child's body was discovered floating in the village of North Gobindapur, in the Lalpol area of Feni Sadar Upazila. 

Poppy Majumder, a local resident, recounted how her husband found the child's body in a pond early in the morning. Locals later recovered the body and brought it to the roadside. The body was in a decomposed state, and a note explained that due to the lack of burial space, the family had resorted to floating the body on a banana raft.

The distressing situation is echoed in the accounts of other locals. 

ANM Abdur Rahim, the publicity secretary of Feni district Jamaat-e-Islami, reported that on Saturday (24 August), Nurul Alam, a 65-year-old resident of Satsati village, passed away. His family, unable to find dry land for burial, floated his body on a banana raft as well.

The story of Masud Khan, an expatriate in Oman, adds another layer of sorrow. After his father, Alim Ullah, passed away amidst the floods, the family had no choice but to float his body on a banana raft, leaving behind a note requesting a proper burial if found.

The grief and helplessness are palpable. Facebook posts from local journalists, such as Farabi Hafiz, also highlight the growing crisis of floating bodies in Feni, with pleas for help going unanswered.

Despite these distressing accounts, Feni District Commissioner Musammat Shahina Akter has stated that the district administration has information about only one death related to the floods. However, the reality on the ground tells a far more tragic story.