Around 3 crore disaster victims of costal belt will be refugee by 2050

Around three crore flood and cyclone affected people of country’s costal belts will become refugees by 2050 if proper and pragmatic rehabilitation plan and sustainable infrastructures at the areas are not ensured.
The observation was made by speakers at a press conference on ‘recent Aila attack and rehabilitation strategy’ organised by Equity and Justice Working Group at the Reporters Unity auditorium in the capital yesterday.
The speakers said natural calamities like Sidr, Aila and different sorts of disasters have affected lakhs of people of country’s south-east areas frequently. Crops, cattle, educational and health service institutes, sanitation and communication infrastructures of these areas have also been destroyed. According to the observation of World Bank if sustainable rehabilitation and infrastructures are not ensured, lakhs of the people of these areas will become refugees and they will be the worst vulnerable group in the country by 2050.
They said the government is still providing food among the victims of the Aila affected areas which are unplanned and mismanaged. The government should launch food for work programme in the areas instead of providing relief for establishing sustainable infrastructures including roads and highways, educational institutes, hospitals and clinics.
During the conference, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury executive director of the organisation said the infrastructures of the areas are very vulnerable as the Water Development Board (WDB) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) did not take steps properly for facing natural calamity. Due to their corruption, irregularities and misappropriation of money, necessary measures after and before calamity could not be ensured so far. And thus, accountability and responsibility of the disaster management department and financial credit of the department should be cleared.
He said not a single amount of around Tk 300 crore of previous budget was spend for rehabilitation and for smooth disaster management of the flood victims in the areas.
He said crop of around eight thousand hectors of land, 28 thousand houses, 10,500 cattle and good numbers of education institutes and health service centres were destroyed and a total of 18 people were killed in Bhola district by the cyclone “Aila.”
He said that the government should take step for setting up numbers of safety barrages at Shatkhira, Bhola and Kutubdia under the supervision of army personnel. Otherwise, the people and lives stocks of these areas will be the worst sufferer if natural calamities occur further.

Courtesy The Bangladesh Today