Flood relief efforts fall short of needs: CPD

In terms of both coverage and per head allocations, relief efforts of the government to mitigate the impact of ongoing flood fall short of the needs, according to an assessment of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

The think-tank is of the view that the needs will also rise if there is a second spell of flood.

Some 5.03 million people have been affected by the current flood. It represents 6.10 per cent of the country’s total population in the 33 affected districts, said the assessment.

The assessment is presented at a virtual dialogue titled ‘Recent Floods: Damages and Recovery Measures’ on Wednesday morning.

Using data of Ministry of Disaster Management, the assessment showed that the government so far allocated 19,510 tonnes of rice as gratuitous relief (GR) of which 12,818 tonnes of rice has already been disbursed which is 63 per cent of allocation.

“If the remaining stock is distributed among the same number of affected people, each will receive on an average 1.3kg of rice,” said the assessment report.

Again, as 68.0 per cent of the allocated GR cash of Tk 42.70 million has been distributed, average per head entitlement is Tk. 5.7 among 5.03 million affected people.

“If the remaining money is distributed among the same number of affected people, each person will receive only Tk 2.75,” added the CPD report.

CPD argued that the allocation of food and resources must be increased in a way which is commensurate with the demand.

“Government’s relief efforts need to look beyond traditional relief items,” the think-tank stressed.

“Cooked food, firewood, drinking water, and other healthcare articles including dignity kits for women need to be ensured,” it added.

“Necessary safety nets need to be established as the double economic burden of Covid-19 and floods may lead more students to drop out of school,” cautioned CPD.

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