The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Different organisations with the help of the armed forces further stepped up their post-flood relief and rehabilitation works in full swing in the worst flood-hit Chilmari Upazila of Kurigram, official sources said.

The recent floods caused a huge damage to crops and properties as the whole upazila of Chilmari on the Brahmaputra remained under floodwaters for days together and normalcy returned there as all of the displaced people already returned home.

The armed forces, district and upazila administrations and NGOs are still continuing huge relief and rehabilitation activities to help the flood-hit people of the area.

The armed forces are distributing seedlings and crop seeds and extending their all-out cooperation to the Administration and other organisations in conducting their relief and rehabilitation works for the flood victims in Chilmari Upazila.

Chilmari Upazila administration already distributed over 51.4 tonnes of rice and Taka 16.27 lakh among the flood victims in the upazila as the process continued and distributed more Taka 5.55 lakh as house building grants with Taka 1,000 to each affected family.

Besides distribution of VGF rice among the flood-hit families, the upazila administration has also started distribution of more Taka 20 lakh allocated from the Chief Advisor's Relief Fund for the affected people of Chilmari Upazila.

Dozens of NGOs and voluntary organisations are continuing their huge activities through distributing relief goods and medicines among the flood affected people of the upazila and they intensified their such drives further in the Upazila.

The relief goods mainly include rice, potato, flatened rice, cash money, salt, soaps, edible oils, utensils, water purifying tablets and medicines, candles, safe drinking waters, life-saving medicines and oral saline, clothes and other necessary essential goods.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF distributed 97.5 tonnes of rice, huge quantities of highly nutritious biscuits with three kilogram to each of the 6,500 affected families of Chilmari Upazila.

Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) and its Char Livelihood Project (CLP) are continuing distribution of huge quantities of relief goods and medicines among the flood victims of Chilmari Upazila.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd also continues its relief activities in Chilmari through distributing rice, potato, salt and other necessary goods.

CARE-Bangladesh, Oxfam-GB, Save The Children and several other donor agencies and development partners are also conducting huge relief and rehabilitation activities in the worst hit Chilmari Upazila.

Different organisations including BRAC, Friends Cooperative Society Ltd, Grameen Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd, Uddipon, Oporajeyo Bangladesh, Terre Des Homes, Naifa Maruf Foundation, Grameen Phone, business and financial institutions are continuing distribution of relief goods there.

Besides, other organisations including ASA, TMSS, Jibika, Solidarity, Grameen Kallyan, private bodies, business community leaders, affluent people and charitable organisations have further intensified their relief, rehabilitation and medicare service activities in Chilmari.

Side by side with the huge relief distribution and medicare services being conducted for the affected people, massive steps have been taken for rehabilitations in the agriculture sector on emergency basis and renovation and reconstruction of the infrastructure sectors will begin from October in the Upazila.

So far, members of the Armed Forces distributed huge quantity of T- Aman seedlings among the flood-affected marginal farmers of Chilmari upazila and other adjoining affected areas in Kurigram, officials said.

The process of distributing T-Aman seedlings and seeds of other crops by the armed forces, different government departments, NGOs and other organisations are continuing in full swing in Chilmari upazila under the post-flood agro- rehabilitation programme.

The Administrations have begun post-flood agro- rehabilitation activities in the upazila on emergency basis for early fight back of the situation recouping losses by the farmers.

Dr Abdul Mazid, Chief Scientific Officer of Rangpur Regional Research Centre of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute distributed huge quantities of Nabi, BRRI-11 and other varieties T-Aman seedlings among the Chilmari farmers.

The DAE, BARI, BADC and other departments have launched massive agriculture rehabilitation programmes including distribution of T-Aman seedlings and seeds of various crops among the farmers of the flood-hit areas including the worst-hit farmers of Chilmari upazila on priority basis, the sources said.

They said that the newly prepared T-Aman seedlings and other necessary agro-inputs are now being distributed in full swing among the affected farmers of Chilmari to make the T-Aman farming programme successful and recouping the losses by cultivating other crops at the earliest by the farmers there.