‘Govt to improve disaster management measures’

The government will take all necessary initiatives to develop disaster management in the country to international standards by 2020, disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said yesterday. “Bangladesh may have to face dire situations in the coming days due to its geographical location and due to climate change. Thus, we have to invent new technology to survive the negative impact of climate change,” the disaster management and relief minister said while speaking at a national workshop on the ‘National Disaster Management Plan 2016–2020’ in the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
The chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the disaster management and relief ministry, Dhirendra Devnath Sambhu, disaster management and relief ministry secretary Md Shah Kamal, director-general of the disaster management directorate, Riaz Ahmed, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director in Bangladesh, Sudipta Mukherji, also spoke at the workshop, among others.
“We should not only think about how the capital and urban areas will cope with an earthquake; we should also think about villages. We have to reinforce our capacity for withstanding earthquakes,” Chowdhury said.
He further said the government would construct as many ‘Mujib Killas’ as needed and that construction work would begin soon.
Emphasising the importance of preparing a database on disasters, the minister said: “We have to build up our own capacity to prepare a database on disasters, thereby reducing dependency on foreigners.” The minister suggested that the authorities should hold meetings on a regular basis with different stakeholders, including the local government engineering department (LGED), city corporations, public works department, and the ministries for water resources, shipping, agriculture, fisheries, women and children, and education, to implement effective disaster management steps.
He also advised the authorities concerned to increase communications with the aforementioned ministries in order to incorporate disaster management in every sustainable development programme.
“There is no alternative to training. We have to prepare disaster management-trained manpower. You cannot react without training during disasters—you must undergo drills,” Chowdhury said.

Govt to improve disaster management measures

The government will take all necessary initiatives to develop disaster management in the country to international standards by 2020, disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said yesterday. Bangladesh may have to face dire situations in the coming days due to its geographical location and due to climate change. Thus, we have to invent new technology to survive the negative impact of climate change, the disaster management and relief minister said while speaking at a national workshop on the National Disaster Management Plan 20162020 in the citys Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. The chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the disaster management and relief ministry, Dhirendra Devnath Sambhu, disaster management and relief ministry secretary Md Shah Kamal, director-general of the disaster management directorate, Riaz Ahmed, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director in Bangladesh, Sudipta Mukherji, also spoke at the workshop, among others. We should not only think about how the capital and urban areas will cope with an earthquake; we should also think about villages. We have to reinforce our capacity for withstanding earthquakes, Chowdhury said. He further said the government would construct as many Mujib Killas as needed and that construction work would begin soon. Emphasising the importance of preparing a database on disasters, the minister said: We have to build up our own capacity to prepare a database on disasters, thereby reducing dependency on foreigners. The minister suggested that the authorities should hold meetings on a regular basis with different stakeholders, including the local government engineering department (LGED), city corporations, public works department, and the ministries for water resources, shipping, agriculture, fisheries, women and children, and education, to implement effective disaster management steps. He also advised the authorities concerned to increase communications with the aforementioned ministries in order to incorporate disaster management in every sustainable development programme. There is no alternative to training. We have to prepare disaster management-trained manpower. You cannot react without training during disastersyou must undergo drills, Chowdhury said.