Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday digitally inaugurated 100 cyclone shelter centres and 53 flood shelter centres across Bangladesh which people of the concerned areas witnessed live on state-run Bangladesh Television.
The inauguration took place before she opened the inaugural function of the International Day for Disaster Reduction at Osmani Memorial Hall in the capital.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on the nation to face natural disasters with courage and vowed to protect them from calamities.
“(Natural) disasters will come, but those will have to be tackled with courage...it’s my call to the people of Bangladesh to always remain ready for any situation,” she said.
She added: “We must take steps so that the people of the country are not affected by the natural calamities in future.”
The disaster management and relief ministry organised the event. Disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee Dhirendra Devnath Shambhu were also present.
Shahidul Alam, an inhabitant of Bashkhali area of Chittagong, an area badly affected by ‘Cyclone Roanu’ that hit Bangladesh in May last, and Masuda Begum, a resident of Fulchhari of Gaibandha, an area hit badly by recent floods, shared their experiences.
Ministers, advisers to the prime minister, diplomats, high civil and military officials, scouts, fire service and civil defence personnel and volunteers were present at the function.
This year’s theme of the International Day for Disaster Reduction was ‘Live to Tell’. However, Bangladesh has d its own theme ‘Strategies to Reduce Disaster’.
Pointing out that Bangladesh has adequate capability to combat any disaster, the prime minister said the country faces not only natural disasters, it is also tackling man made disasters.
“It’s natural that cyclones and floods will come. But those will have to be faced with courage,” she said.
She said Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country due to its geographical location and is marching forward by facing various risks of natural calamities like flood, drought, cyclones and river erosion.
“If we stay alert and take timely steps, it’s possible to face any disaster,” she said.
Mentioning that her government’s aim is to save the people from any calamity, Sheikh Hasina said the government has been implementing various programmes to achieve the goal.
While talking about global warming, the premier said warming is hitting Bangladesh hard, though it’s not responsible for it.
The prime minister said her government has taken steps to build a green belt across the country to save people from tidal surge and other natural calamities.
“Directives to this end have already been given and I hope that those who are listening to and watching today’s programme would take proper steps,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina also mentioned that her government has taken initiatives for erecting a green belt around the Rampal Coal-fired Power Plant by planting 5,00,000 trees.
She also put emphasis on palm tree planting campaign, saying that it reduces loss of life and property from lightning.
The prime minister said her government has constructed 3,851 cyclone shelter centres and wants to raise the number to 6,000 in next five years by giving the centres an institutional shape.
The premier said her government’s measures for combating natural calamities have been acclaimed across the globe. “The steps we have taken for facing natural disasters are being replicated at the international level,” she said.
The prime minister said Bangladesh has set an example in disaster management in the world due to its infrastructure activities.
In this connection, she said various countries and donor agencies had predicted large would die in the 1998 deluge.
“But our government handled that flood efficiently and proved their predictions wrong,” she said.
She said the United Nations has adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework for Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.