Hundreds of fishermen living in nine char areas near the Bay of Bengal remain vulnerable due to inadequate number of cyclone shelters there. Local people said there are only three cyclone shelters in the coastal areas adjacent to the Sundarbans. Of the three, two cyclone shelters in Dublarchar and Alorkol are now abandoned while the other in Shalerchar is in a vulnerable condition, said Mahmudul Hassan, divisional forest officer of Sundarbans East Forest Division. Many fishermen living in the coastal areas said although the government earns handsome revenue from this sector, fishermen are still netting and drying their catches at risk of their lives. Delo Nikari, a fisherman of Sharankhola upazila in Bagerhat, said hundreds of fishermen, who earn their livelihood from the forest area and the Bay of Bengal, stay there unsafe round the year. If a cyclone hits, we do not have any place to take shelter, he said. He said the authorities concerned should build more cyclone shelters as well as repair the existing three. Another fisherman Rahman Farazi said the authorities concerned should repair the cyclone shelters in Dublarchar, Alorkol and Shalerchar areas as soon as possible. Loss of lives due to natural disaster will reduce if more cyclone shelters are built in the area, another fisherman Aminul Islam said. Divisional Forest Officer of Sundarbans East Forest Division Mahmudul Hassan said Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief built the three cyclone shelters in 1994. The government should take immediate steps to repair the existing three cyclone shelters and build some more, he added.