Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Bangladesh, as an independent nation, has the ability to deal with all natural and manmade disasters and keep pace with development.
She expressed her firm conviction that neither any natural calamity nor any manmade disaster can deviate Bangladesh from its cherished goal of development.
Addressing the officials of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief at Bangladesh Secretariat here today the Prime Minister said Bangladesh is a good example of disaster management as well as containing terrorism for the whole world.
“So we will go towards prosperity with our own strength. No disaster created by nature or people would hamper our progress,” she said.
“Once upon a time Bangladesh meant horrible picture of a nation prone to natural disasters and human induced troubles like militancy and terrorism. We could come out of that wicked reputation and take forward the country to a dignified position,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina arrived at the Ministry as part of her plan to visit every ministry for exchanging views with the senior officials, know about their development projects and execution side by side with giving necessary guidelines to bring dynamism in their activities.
She said Bangladesh earned freedom through shedding bloods of millions. So, it would never go with Bangladesh that the country is not able to tackle natural disaster, she said, adding Bangladesh repeatedly has proved its capacity to overcome the natural and human induced disasters.
The Prime Minister asked the ministry to engage their efforts and time for rehabilitation of the families affected in recent flood in the northern parts of the country, giving them land for cultivation and habitats for safe living.
Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya spoke on the occasion welcoming the Prime Minister while secretary of the ministry Mesbah Ul Alam gave speech on different aspects and development activities. Senior officials of the ministry and Prime Minister Office (PMO) were present.
Sheikh Hasina said the role of the ministry of disaster management and relief is very crucial for Bangladesh as the country is a disaster prone one. Bangabandhu established a separate relief ministry after independence out of his experience from distributing relief in remote areas of the country for months after the 1970 cyclone.
“Bangladesh for its geographical location is prone to natural disaster and earthquake. So we have to always remain careful about disaster management. We have to cope with those natural disasters and protect our lives and property, it’s our reality,” she said.
In this regard the Prime Minister said she dislike the approach of showcasing the natural disasters, its damage and causality for seeking foreign aid saying awareness, preparedness and quick rescue and relief operation can save lives and property of the people.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned about her experience she gathered during conducting relief operation in Chittagong after 1990 cyclone and said the field-level experience persuaded her party to frame a well-thought-out disaster management and relief operation programme after assuming power in 1997.
Pointing out the 1998 flood across the country Sheikh Hasina said capital Dhaka was under water for a couple of weeks and rest of the country for about three months. She recalled that BBC predicted death of two crore people in starvation after the severe flood.
But the nation including members of the armed forces, law enforcing agencies, students, doctors, party workers and common people worked together to help the flood-hit people. As well government’s coordinated relief works proved the BBC report as a wrong prediction; she said adding we have proved in 1998 that determination is the foremost requisite to face any natural disaster.
Sheikh Hasina said the Awami League government framed the Standing Orders on Disaster (SOD) in 1997 aimed at put in place a coordinated and dynamic disaster management programme. The Order has been revised in 2010 incorporating the responsibilities of different ministries during any disaster, which was acclaimed by the international community, she said.
The Prime Minister said the Awami League government has taken initiative for enacting Disaster Management Act in 1997. But the process didn’t progress during the period of next BNP-Jamaat government law. In 2012, the Awami League government passed the law in the parliament, she said.
She said the number of casualties and damage to property declined to a large extent because of the programmes taken by the government. In 1970, she said the death toll was over three lakh which was less than three thousands during same category cyclone sidr in 2007. The death toll in 2009 during cyclone Aila and during Mohasen in 2013 was 190 and 17 respectively.
Pointing out the risk of coastal people due to frequent disaster the Prime Minister said as many as six thousand cyclone shelter centres are needed in the coastal areas of the country, out of which 3,751 were already been constructed. More 629 centres remained under construction, she said.
In this regard the Prime Minister requested the elected representatives particularly the parliament members to help constructing the cyclone shelter centres in the places convenient to the coastal people to take quick shelter during any disaster instead of persuading for constructing those in their own localities.
Terming the flood and river erosion as two major disasters for the people, the Prime Minister said thousands of acres of arable land are lost every year due to river erosion leaving millions of people homeless.
She said the government has taken a target to build up 62,000 urban volunteers, out of which 26,315 personnel were already given training and attached to the Fire service and Civil Defense stations.
The present government has already procured Taka 64 crore searching and rescue equipment. The equipment were given to the armed forces, fire service and civil defence and city corporations. The government has also taken a plan to purchase more equipment of Taka 159 crore, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the academic chapter has been incorporated in the textbooks of class-III to class-XI to make students about disaster management and resilience programmes. Honours and Diploma course on disaster management were introduced in 17 universities, she said adding disaster management chapter has been made compulsory in the module of 11 training institutes.
The Prime Minister said her government is striving for making Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous nation in South Asia and by 2021. By this period, she said Bangladesh would be a country free from hunger and poverty.
Addressing the meeting Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya placed a nine-point proposal to the Prime Minister for better coordination and effectiveness in the activities of the ministry.
He proposed for bringing the Fire Service and Civil Defence and Meteorological Departments under the Ministry of Disaster Management, establishment of Emergency Operation Centre to deal with large scale disasters, waiving tax on the equipments of Interactive Voice response (IVR) and giving approval to newly proposed organogram of the ministry.