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A woman holding a child stands outside a makeshift shelter in Khulna, southwestern Bangladesh, on May 28, 2009. At least 131 people died and 1,123 people are still missing after the cyclone Aila hit Bangladesh's southwestern coast on Monday, officials said on Thursday.[Qamruzzaman/Xinhua]
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Khuku Moni, a woman of 27, is living in a market in Koyra town with her husband and mother because they lost their home in the cyclone attack.
Compared with those affected people who live in the open or tents, some people are lucky to have a space to live in the government-run cyclone center, but the situation there is not satisfactory.
In a cyclone center in Koyra town, Aziz Zaman, a primary schoolteacher who lost his house in the cyclone, told Xinhua around 500 people are living in the center with 100 people huddled in one room which is about 30 square meters.
"There is only one toilet in the center. More and more people are suffering diarrhea. We need clean water, food and medicine," he said.
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Women carry pots of drinking water that they fetch from a distant place, in Khulna, southwestern Bangladesh, on May 28, 2009. [Qamruzzaman/Xinhua]
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The government is providing some food to the affected people but not enough for 3 meals, some people said.
The Chief Executive of Koyra Sub-District M.M. Arif Pasha told Xinhua in an interview that the government is trying its best to help the affected people.
"The government has sent some purified water, some ready-made food and 7 medical teams to Koyra," he said.
Arif said Koyra is one of the worst hit places in the country with 41 people killed, 350 injured, 40,000 houses totally or partially damaged, 4,000 shrimp breeding plants destroyed.
He said 150,000 people are homeless in the sub-district. "With such a big number, we need a lot of relief goods to meet the demand of the affected people," he said.
Arif called on local and international organizations to come to help the affected people.
(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2009)
