3 lakh disaster-tolerant houses in next 4 years

At least 68,000 people, on average, are displaced due to river erosion and other natural disasters annually across the country. Besides, around 10,000 hectares of land are eroded due to river erosion in every year. The government has taken various steps and projects to rehabilitate the displaced people. Senior secretary of the disaster management and relief ministry, Md Shah Kamal, said this while talking to The Independent yesterday. Natural disasters like cyclonic storms, erosion, floods and climate change are common problems in Bangladesh that contribute to displacement of people. Kamal said about 4 per cent of coastal people usually shift to other places due to scarcity of pure water. “We have taken up various projects and initiatives to address problems like shortage of pure water and construction of disaster-tolerant houses, bridges, roads, cyclone, and flood shelters,” he added.

He also said a total of three lakh disaster-tolerant houses would be constructed in the next four years and would be handed over to poor people. “We have already constructed 11,604 such houses. A total of 23,000 are under construction,” he added.

Kamal said the government constructed a total of 255 multipurpose flood shelters and 423 such shelters were under construction.

There will be no bamboo bridges in the country by 2021, Kamal said, adding that they already constructed 28,494 bridges in flood-affected and coastal areas to ease communication so that people could easily take shelter in nearby centres during disasters.

“We have already constructed 40,171 cyclone shelters in coastal areas. Around 7,000 more such centres are needed in 19 coastal districts. We are now constructing 120 cyclone shelters,” he said.

Many women in coastal areas lose their reproductive capacity after drinking saline water, which is a major health threat too.

When asked about the problem, Kamal said: “It's true that many women in the coastal areas are suffering from reproductive  problems because of drinking saline water. Considering the problem, we have imported

truck-mounted water treatment plants from Japan to supply pure water. to them.”

He also said the people of Satkhira and adjacent areas are getting pure water from 40 such water treatment plants. The cost of each truck-mounted water treatment plant was Tk. 30 lakh. More such water treatment plants would be engaged in other coastal areas to supply pure water to people, he added.

He further said the government was eager to make the displaced people self-reliant through various social safety net programmes across the country.

3 lakh disaster-tolerant houses in next 4 years

At least 68,000 people, on average, are displaced due to river erosion and other natural disasters annually across the country. Besides, around 10,000 hectares of land are eroded due to river erosion in every year. The government has taken various steps and projects to rehabilitate the displaced people. Senior secretary of the disaster management and relief ministry, Md Shah Kamal, said this while talking to The Independent yesterday. Natural disasters like cyclonic storms, erosion, floods and climate change are common problems in Bangladesh that contribute to displacement of people. Kamal said about 4 per cent of coastal people usually shift to other places due to scarcity of pure water. We have taken up various projects and initiatives to address problems like shortage of pure water and construction of disaster-tolerant houses, bridges, roads, cyclone, and flood shelters, he added. He also said a total of three lakh disaster-tolerant houses would be constructed in the next four years and would be handed over to poor people. We have already constructed 11,604 such houses. A total of 23,000 are under construction, he added. Kamal said the government constructed a total of 255 multipurpose flood shelters and 423 such shelters were under construction. There will be no bamboo bridges in the country by 2021, Kamal said, adding that they already constructed 28,494 bridges in flood-affected and coastal areas to ease communication so that people could easily take shelter in nearby centres during disasters. We have already constructed 40,171 cyclone shelters in coastal areas. Around 7,000 more such centres are needed in 19 coastal districts. We are now constructing 120 cyclone shelters, he said. Many women in coastal areas lose their reproductive capacity after drinking saline water, which is a major health threat too. When asked about the problem, Kamal said: Its true that many women in the coastal areas are suffering from reproductive problems because of drinking saline water. Considering the problem, we have imported truck-mounted water treatment plants from Japan to supply pure water. to them. He also said the people of Satkhira and adjacent areas are getting pure water from 40 such water treatment plants. The cost of each truck-mounted water treatment plant was Tk. 30 lakh. More such water treatment plants would be engaged in other coastal areas to supply pure water to people, he added. He further said the government was eager to make the displaced people self-reliant through various social safety net programmes across the country.