Raiganj, April 14: Altaf Ali huddles in the middle of a small kutcha pathway that divides plots of agricultural land in Bazargaon II gram panchayat of Karandighi block, along with hundreds of others rendered homeless by last night’s storm.

Along with him are his elderly parents, wife and his minor son and daughter. Still shocked at having his mud hut completely destroyed, Altaf faces an uncertain future.

“We managed to salvage some clothes and a few mattresses, but they are still damp. We will have to spend the night under the open sky. A relative had asked us to stay in his hut that is still standing, but I am not willing to take the risk. The skies are still cloudy and the air is damp, there could be another storm tonight,” said Altaf.

The farmer, who grows brinjal on a small plot of land, today sent whatever crop he could collect after the calamity to the market in Raiganj through a middleman. “He returned with Rs 150 and we bought some puffed rice to eat,” said the farmer.

While some of the affected people chose to stay out in the open, there were others like Nikhil Barman, who took shelter in a bamboo grove in Maharaja, about 22km from Raiganj.

“The storm has levelled my house and I and many others find it safe to stay in the bamboo grove and not under a tree. Bamboo is strong and will not succumb to strong winds, unlike trees that came crashing down around us last night,” he said.

Seething in rage and frustration at no help coming, Nikhil said if he and the others did not get tarpaulin sheets from the panchayats by evening, they would break into a nearby primary school.

Abdul Latif, a corn farmer, and his family of four, were among the homeless. Left with no other option, Latif today leased the crop on his 1.5 acre land to a local money-lender.

“I leased the crop to him for Rs 400 so that we can survive for a while on our own. The money-lender can sell the crop when it matures, though nearly half of the corn stalks were damaged in the storm,” Latif said.

Still awaiting relief, Latif had made a makeshift shelter for his two children with the canopy of his bullock cart.

The pradhan of Bazargaon II panchayat, Sukumar Singha, said more than 20,000 houses had been completely damaged in Karandighi block and there were only 1,200 tarpaulin sheets to be distributed. “We are sure to incur the wrath of the homeless if we show up with so little relief. We are waiting for more sheets.”