Mentioning that waterlogging has become a chronic problem for the country’s southwest region, speakers at a workshop on Monday called for strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable communities to cope with the problem, reports UNB. The DeSHARI consortium, led by Action Against Hunger (ACF), in partnership with Christian Aid, DanChurchAid and Muslim Aid, and funded by European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), organised the National Lessons Learned and Sharing workshop at Spectra Convention Centre.

The livelihoods of the marginal farmers are affected most by frequent and long-term inundation, the speakers said blaming extreme rainfall, riverbed rising, unplanned urbanisation and blocking of drainage system for the water-logging.

They also called for supporting the victims so that they can achieve resilient livelihoods and improved food and nutrition security.

The speakers underscored the need for promoting adaptive, alternative and sustainable agro-farming systems to ensure maximum utilisation of resources in the affected areas.

Director General of the Department of Disaster Management Reaz Ahmed attended the programme as the chief guest while Rene de Vries, head of office at ECHO, was a special guest.

Prof Mahbuba Nasrin, Director of the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerabilities Studies of Dhaka University; Nipin Gangadharan, country director of ACF; and Mahfuzur Rahman, country director of Muslim Aid, among others, spoke at the function, which was moderated by Shakeb Nabi, country director of Christian Aid.