The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Different government, non- government and donor organisations with the help of the armed forces have further intensified post-flood relief, agro- rehabilitation and medicare services in greater Rangpur districts, official sources said on Thursday night

At the same time, the government has allocated adequate money for every flood-hit district to help the small and marginal farmers in making the upcoming Rabi crop farming successful and to recoup the losses they incurred by the recent floods, officials added.

They said the organisations have stepped up their efforts for distributing relief goods and medicare services and oral saline as well as quickening agro-rehabilitation to mitigate the sufferings of the affected people. Besides, voluntary organisations, affluent people, business community, financial and educational institutions, professional groups side by side with the NGOs and donor agencies including WFP, UNICEF, Oxfam-GB, Save The Children and CARE-Bangladesh have intensified their relief and rehabilitation operation.

The overall diarrhoea situation remains under control as hundreds of medical teams, NGOs and other organisations have also geared up their efforts of providing the victims with medical services and life-saving medicines as water-borne diseases were spreading recently in the flood-hit areas.

The government departments are taking preparations for conducting reconstruction and repair of the damaged infrastructures including bridges, embankments, educational institutions, dams, culverts and roads will be launched from October in the affected areas, officials said.

"Presently, we have put the emphasis on agricultural rehabilitation by providing T-Aman seedlings and seeds of various crops including vegetables to the affected farmers and providing relief goods among the flood-hit people of the districts," they added. Distribution of T-Aman seedlings and crop seeds by the Armed Forces, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and a number of NGOs are working for the affected marginal farmers.

The government departments intensified distributing T-Aman seedlings and other seeds among the flood-affected farmers in the districts of greater Rangpur.

T-Aman seedlings, prepared in the unaffected districts of the Region, will be distributed among the affected farmers from the first week of the next month by different organisations and NGOS.

Chief Scientific Officer of BRRI, Rangpur Regional Research Centre Dr Abdul Mazid told BSS last night that despite early floods, there are also enough opportunities and possibilities of a bumper T-Aman production this year, if the farmers were provided with adequate quantity of T-Aman seedlings.

"Additional seedlings of different varieties may be brought from the other areas and distributed among the farmers as there are adequate times for T-Aman plantation by the middle of September for beter production," he added.

Some varieties of T-Aman seedlings could be planted by the end of September and there would be an excellent production of the crop as the over-flooded soil has become very fertile for deposition of alluvial soils brought by the floodwaters, he added.

Meanwhile, the government has taken adequate steps for the next Rabi crop farming through ensuring supply of quality seeds including high yielding and hybrid varieties seeds of Boro, potato, maize, wheat and vegetables among the farmers for cultivating the crops in more land, officials said.

The government has allocated a sum of Taka 45.48 lakh for Rangpur alone to provide each affected small and marginal farmer with necessary seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other agro-inputs free of costs for cultivating Rabi crop in one bigha (33 decimals) land like other flood-hit districts, officials said last night