With a view to providing life saving assistance, Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) of the United Nations has allocated one million US dollars to the landslide victims of Chittagong Hill Tracts that witnessed deaths of 166 people last month, reports BSS.

Following a multi-sector needs assessment, the UN Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT) has developed a Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) which seeks 10 million US dollars to bring urgent assistance to 51,000 people, said a UN release received in Dhaka yesterday.

The CERF funding will cover part of the needs and will be provided to three UN agencies-UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF-to scale up their response in the most affected Rangamati district.

The disaster has very sever humanitarian impact, said UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Robert Watkins, adding that the CERF funding would help UN agencies working with affected communities to address immediate life-saving needs.

Watkins also invited the all partners to contribute to the urgent humanitarian response to facilitate a smooth recovery process for all affected people in Bandarban, Chittagong and Rangamati.

The CERF allocation would be used to provide 1,500 emergency temporary shelters and repair 1,500 houses damaged in the landslides. It will also support the cleaning of water sources, the provision of sanitation facilities and distribution of hygiene and delivery and dignity kits, the release added.

The deadliest landslides-related disaster in Bangladesh history left thousands of home buried in mud and rubble. The most severely affected districts were Rangamati, Bandarban and Chittagong.