Asadul Habib Dulu, Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, has said the government is building new houses for families affected by the recent floods. Seed has been distributed to affected farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture, damaged rural infrastructure will be rebuilt under the Food for Work (KABIKHA) programme, and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) will move quickly to repair damaged roads.

He said this on the afternoon of 18 August at a ceremony in Bandar, Narayanganj, where speedboats for emergency rescue work during disasters were handed over to 12 coastal districts.

The minister said modern speedboats funded by JICA had been given to 12 coastal districts to strengthen rescue capacity during disasters. The rescue craft will be supplied to another 25 districts in phases, so that rescues can be carried out quickly in remote areas during floods, tidal surges and cyclones. Because the speedboats have twin engines, rescue operations will be possible even while danger signal number four is in force at sea, making it easier to reach people in coastal and remote areas.

He said the most important task during floods and cyclones is to move people trapped in remote areas to safety, and the government is steadily adding modern equipment to increase rescue capacity. He called the handover an important milestone in disaster management.

Rescue boats will also be supplied in phases to the haor wetlands as well as the coastal districts, he said. This year swift steps were taken to deal with the floods in the haor region, and capacity there will be further strengthened for future disasters. With support from the Government of Japan and JICA, the country's disaster management system has gained a new dimension, he said.

Present were Japan's Ambassador to Bangladesh Saida Shinichi; State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Engineer M Iqbal Hossain; Narayanganj-5 MP Advocate Abul Kalam; the ministry's secretary Md Mohammad Saiful Islam; Director General of the Department of Disaster Management Md Rezwanur Rahman; Prime Minister's Office Director General Nurjahan Khanam; and JICA Bangladesh Chief Representative Takahashi Junko.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.