Tropical Cyclone Sitrang dealt a deathly blow as it swept over low-lying Bangladesh on Monday night, leaving at least 24 people dead and tens of thousands homeless as high winds and heavy rain caused widespread flooding, destroying homes and crops.
In the aftermath of the storm, workers at Chattogram’s Kabir Steel two ship recycling facilities observed a herd of buffalo far out to sea. The buffalo had been swept out into the Bay of Bengal as rivers in nearby farmland overran their banks and turned into raging torrents.
Kabir Steel chief executive Mohd Mehrul Karim told TradeWinds on Wednesday that the yard’s workers immediately launched a rescue effort, and using boats and by swimming, they dragged and pushed the hapless buffalo back to shore.
A total of 16 buffalo were rescued.
“Never in our history have we experienced such an exceptional rescue,” said Kabir.
“The buffalos are still with us. We are feeding them and also have provided some with first aid. We have informed the local authority to find the owners of the buffalos so that we can return them.”
The buffalo is a near-sacred animal in Bangladesh’s agricultural communities. These tough, hardy beasts do all the grunt work in the fields from pulling ploughs to carrying harvested crops – all the work that in more developed nations is done by hydrocarbon-burning tractors.
Their value to Bangladesh’s farmers is immeasurable and to lose one would cause a big financial loss to the many small plot farmers for whom a buffalo is a vital necessity.
