Thousands at risk of landslides

We are deeply concerned about the thousands of families living at risk of landslides in the hill regions in Chittagong. It is unfortunate that, despite the accidents that take place every year, especially during monsoon, leading to loss of lives and property of low-income groups who live on the slopes and foots of hills, the authorities are yet to take any effective measures to evacuate them to safer places.

According to our reports, the Hill Management Committee (HMC) directed organisations and individuals who owned the hills or land around them to submit the lists of vulnerable families living there by June 8. However, even though the deadline has passed, not a single list has been submitted. The committee, formed in 2007 after 127 people lost their lives in a landslide, has so far made 36 proposals including relocating the hill-dwellers vulnerable to landslides, constructing retaining walls, taking up afforestation programmes and erecting barbed-wire fences around the hills, but so far, most of these have not been implemented.Experts argue that the middlemen who occupy and rent the land continue to do so with impunity as they have political clout.

With landslides killing at least 185 people between 2007 and 2013 in Chittagong in monsoon, we simply cannot leave these low-income people in such a vulnerable state. The authorities must take immediate steps to implement the suggestions of the HMC, and take action against those who rent out the land, putting peoples' lives at risk. In addition, they must make an updated list of the people who are exposed to risks and relocate them urgently.