By NNN-BSS
Dhaka : Secretary of the Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management Dr Mohammad Ayub Miah on Monday said 2,000 new cyclone shelters will be built in the coastal areas of the country’s 15 districts as part of the government’s disaster preparedness.
A sub-committee for setting up the cyclone centres has been formed which will submit a report within this month on how the cyclone centers could be make sustainable, he said this while
inaugurating a workshop on ‘Cyclone Sidr 2007: Early Recovery’ at BIAM auditorium here.
United Nations development Programme (UNDP) and the Disaster Management Bureau (DMB) jointly organised the workshop in cooperation with Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme
(CDMP).
With director general of DMB KH Masud Siddiqui in the chair, the function was addressed, among others by UNDP country director Manoj Basnyat, chief of programme division of the Ministry of
Planning Dr Idris Ali Dewan, director of DMB Mohammad Abu Sadeque, high officials of different ministries and development partners.
Dr Mohammad Ayub Miah said Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country and the recent cyclone Sidr had caused massive damage to lives and properties particularly in agriculture sector.
The government, he said, is taking a comprehensive and 12- month loss recovery programme aimed at reducing the loss of cyclone survivors in the southwestern coastlines of the country.
KH Masud Siddiqui underscored the need for carrying out more research on disaster preparation with a view to strengthening the country’s disaster preparedness.
Manoj Basnyat appreciated the government’s ongoing coordinated efforts aiming at reducing the sufferings of the Sidr- hit people.
“We are ready to provide necessary assistance to Bangladesh for early recovery of the economic loss suffered the country due to the cyclone Sidr,” he added.