Floods claim 156 lives;govt machinery pressed into rescue operation

Dhaka, Aug 6 (UNI) Floods in Bangladesh claimed 36 more lives raising the toll to 156 today. The military-backed caretaker government mobilized all its machinery to rescue millions of people marooned in inaccessible areas and give succour to the victims.

There is growing apprehension among the people that the floods might turn dangerous in central Bangladesh in the next few days with fresh downpour from a low formed over the Bay of Bengal and on-rush of waters from the upper riparian of India with Nepal also facing the disaster.

A latest forecast from the government-run warning centre said floodwaters coming from upstream would cause a further deterioration of the flooding in and around the capital Dhaka with rivers and streams rising.

The Buriganga River in Dhaka may cross danger level by Monday evening. All the rivers surrounding Dhaka are likely to rise further, it said.

Thousands of troops are working round-the-clock alongside civil volunteers and medical teams to rescue and rehabilitate the victims as relief ministry officials said nearly nine million people have either been displaced or marooned in 39 out of 64 affected districts of the country. Five new sub-districts and a district have already been flooded.

There are reports in local media about the dearth of relief goods and lack of pure water and medicines for the affected people.

Official statistics say 36 more deaths have been reported from different districts till Monday morning, thereby increasing the casualties.

Over 3,00,000 flood-hit victims have so far taken shelter in 1,412 flood centers in the affected districts.

Agriculture among the affected productive sectors bears the brunt of the calamity as standing crops on more than 14 lakh acres of land were fully or partially damaged. Small and cottage industries were also wrecked especially in the towns still under water.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Advisor Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told reporters that the current flood situation will not require the government to seek international aid but said it would be welcome any cooperation.

''We are keeping posted our friends and development partners, ''But we have not reached that stage for international assistance,'' he told reporters at the Foreign Ministry Monday afternoon.

Dr Chowdhury said so far three countries have pledged assistance for the flood victims and more countries are likely to respond to the situation.

UK has pledged 2.5 million dollars, Canada 2,50,000 dollars, Turkey 1,00,000 dollars and Germany 6,58,000 dollars that will be channeled through WFP.

''The most important thing is we need to make available relief goods to the victims at remote places,''he said, adding the army, civil administration and private organizations are jointly working in the flood-affected areas.

In reply to a question, the Advisor said if the floods further aggravated and the situation changed, the government might seek foreign aid and assistance to cope with the situation.

Mr Chowdhury also admitted that the post-flood situation will also be a gigantic task of the government in dealing with issues like health, crop production and rebuilding of infrastructure.

UNI