PM orders strengthening relief work in haor areas

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday asked ministries concerned to strengthen relief operations in flash flood-hit haor areas and urged more media coverage of the government initiatives for the affected people.
At the weekly cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Division, she, however, resented media reports on losses of crops, fisheries and livestock caused by the ongoing flash flood in haor areas of seven districts, saying that most of the reports giving varying statistics on losses lacked authenticity.
The prime minister also
asked the authorities for working out a rehabilitation plan for agriculture as vast haor areas in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Kishoreganj, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria and Netrakona were washed away by flash floods, causing huge damage to standing crops, fisheries and livestock. 
‘The prime minister said that relief activities in haor areas have not been properly reflected in media reports,’ cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said replying to a question at a briefing after the meeting. 
She also asked the agencies concerned to ensure that the affected people get relief goods properly, he added. 
‘The prime minister asked the disaster management and relief minister to visit flash flood-hit haor areas to make sure that the affected people got food and other relief materials,’ a minister told New Age.
Rights organisations have demanded that the flash flood-hit haor areas should be declared disaster area and the Bangladesh Water Development Board officials responsible for alleged corruptions in the construction of embankments in the affected districts must be brought to justice. 
Disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya on Sunday said that the situation was under control and there were not enough reasons for declaring haor areas as a disaster area. 
He said that the government would provide each of the 3.3 lakh affected people with 30kg rice per month. The food would be distributed until July through Vulnerable Group Feeding cards, according to the minister. 

- See more at: http://www.newagebd.net/article/14211/pm-orders-strengthening-relief-work-in-haor-areas#sthash.iEo0Fsc7.dpuf