Create green belts to protect country from disasters

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday stressed the need for creating green belts through afforestation for protection from natural disasters like cyclone and tidal surge.

"The only way before us to protect the country from cyclone and tidal surge is to encircle Bangladesh with green belts," she said while addressing a function marking International Day for Disaster Reduction 2016 in the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium.

The premier underscored the need for bringing different areas, especially the coastal ones, under green belts and go for more afforestation there. She urged all to plant more palm trees and construct buildings keeping proper earthling facility to avoid such disasters.

Referring to the movement and hue and cry of many against the Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans, she said the government has a plan to plant nearly five lakh trees there to create a green belt and also to sink carbon.

She vowed the government will surely take steps so that no one is affected due to disasters in the future.

Earlier, the PM digitally inaugurated 100 cyclone shelter centres and 53 flood centres.

“If we remain alert and take proper steps in right time, we will be able to face any kind of disaster,” she said.

The lives and livelihood of people are now at stake due to increase of cyclone, flood, draught, waterlogging, landslide and riverbank erosion and decrease of navigability of rivers. Besides, there are risks of earthquakes due to the country's geographical locations, over-population and impacts of climate change, she said.

Highlighting the government's success in tackling the 1997 cyclone and the 1998 flood when more than 70 percent areas went under floodwater, she said not a single person died without food at that time.

She said her government had established “Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief” as a separate ministry while the Disaster Management Act was passed to effectively face disasters.

The government formulated National Disaster Management Plan 2010-2015 and Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan-BCCSAP to face the climate change disasters and formed Climate Change Trust Fund to implement the plan, she said.