Dhaka, Aug 24 (PTI) Chief Adviser of the interim government in Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus on Saturday warned that health and food risks may arise once floodwaters recede and urged the people to unite in the relief work “with encouragement from the youth.” The toll in the devastating floods rose to 18 and it has affected 49 lakh people across 11 districts in the country, weeks after a major political turmoil led to the fall of the government led by Sheikh Hasina.
The Disaster Management and Relief Ministry said a total of 9,44,548 families have been stranded in the flood-affected areas while 2,84,888 people and 21,695 cattle were given shelter to 3,527 shelter centres across the 11 districts since August 20, according to the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
The army, navy, coast guard, Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB), fire service, civil defence and students’ community in coordination with district administration are making rescue efforts in the flood-hit areas all over, the ministry said.
Earlier during the day, at a meeting with about 44 NGOs, Yunus urged the country’s people to come forward to address the ongoing devastating flood.
“With the initiatives and encouragement of the youth, the country’s people should jump into addressing the flood together. We must tackle the flood unitedly,” he said after a meeting held at state guest house Jamuna here.
His press secretary Shafiqul Alam said that Yunus said that “the way the people of Bangladesh showed their spirit during the student-people movement, they are coming up showing the same spontaneity in addressing the flood.” With the floodwaters starting to recede, water-borne diseases and health-related issues would emerge and the meeting discussed how these issues can be addressed, BSS quoted Alam as saying.
The NGOs are the strength of Bangladesh and “we must implement the dream the youth have shown us. And we can do it,” said Yunus, a Nobel laureate who comes from the development sector and has harnessed the power of NGOs to bring about developmental changes in the country.
Yunus, 84, assumed charge on August 8 soon after Hasina, 76, stepped down on August 5 and fled to India amidst a mass uprising that followed attacks, vandalism and killings of many people loyal to her since last month.
Bangladesh is crisscrossed by more than 200 rivers, 54 of them being transboundary rivers with upper riparian India, in four major basins. A depression (a system that brings in copious rainfall) in the Bay of Bengal had led to the current deluge with rivers in two basins – the north-eastern Meghna Basin and south-western Chattrogram Hills Basin – flowing above the danger mark. PTI NPK NPK NPK
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