The government will relocate families living at the foothills and other landslide-prone areas to safer locations and construct houses for them in an effort to prevent recurring deaths caused by hill collapses, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu announced on Thursday.
Making a statement under Rule 300 in the Jatiya Sangsad during the 22nd sitting of the first budget session of the 13th Parliament, the minister called on lawmakers from the affected constituencies to assist the government in implementing the rehabilitation programme.
The minister said recent landslides in the hilly districts of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati and Bandarban had claimed 30 lives, including five in Chattogram, 19 in Cox’s Bazar, one in Rangamati and five in Bandarban.
To address the emergency, the government has opened a large number of shelters across the affected districts. A total of 41 shelters have been set up in Chattogram, 640 in Cox’s Bazar, 21 in Rangamati, 135 in Khagrachhari and 220 in Bandarban. Thousands of people have already taken refuge in these centres, where safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, baby food and three meals a day are being provided. Authorities are also continuing public announcements through loudspeakers, urging residents in vulnerable areas to move to safer shelters.
Dulu said the ministry initially allocated Tk 10 million in GR cash and 200 tonnes of rice to each affected district on July 7. Considering the evolving situation, additional allocations have since been approved, including Tk 25 million for Chattogram, Tk 20 million for Cox’s Bazar, and Tk 10 million each for Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban.
The government has also allocated an additional 300 tonnes of rice for Chattogram, 250 tonnes for Cox’s Bazar, and 200 tonnes each for Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban. In addition, the Prime Minister has provided a special grant of Tk 20 million to each affected district from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
The minister said the secretary of the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry is currently in the affected region on the Prime Minister’s instructions, while district and upazila administrations are monitoring the situation around the clock and coordinating relief operations.
As Parliament remains adjourned, Dulu urged lawmakers from the hill districts to visit their constituencies, oversee relief activities and maintain close coordination with the ministry whenever necessary.
He stressed that the annual loss of lives from landslides must be permanently halted. The government, he said, has ample khas land and land under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works that can be used for resettlement. If local MPs help raise public awareness and encourage relocation, the government is fully prepared to move vulnerable families to safer locations and build homes for them.
The minister called on all concerned to work together to ensure that no more lives are lost to landslides in the future.