The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Communications Adviser Maj Gen (Retd) MA Matin said yesterday that no single individual would be found in the cyclone affected areas who did not receive any relief goods.

While visiting the cyclone battered Kathalia in Jhalakathi district, Matin, who is also the Chief Coordinator of Central Relief and Rehabilitation Works at Barisal Airport, ordered the authorities concerned to ensure reaching relief goods and start the rehabilitation process in the affected areas.

Later, he told journalists that there might be some mistakes in the relief distribution process, but not a single individual would be found who did not receive the relief.

Meanwhile, our Barisal Correspondent reports: Bangla-desh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) has deployed two vessels for carrying relief items. It has also offered relief transportation at free of cost.

Khalid Newaz, Barisal station manager of BIWTC, said Sea Truck Khizir-4 after emergency repairing was floated from dockyard and deployed for carrying relief items to remote isolated areas.

After loading 50 tonnes of relief items, the vessel left Barisal for Rangabali coastal areas of Patuakhali on Tuesday.

Another vessel MV Karnaphuli, previously worked as ferry, also deployed for carrying relief items and left Barisal for Sidr distressed areas of Barguna yesterday.

Personnels of joint forces including coast guard are on the board of the vessel to do and supervise the distribution of relief items.

Besides BIWTC rocket steamer MV Sela will give a trip to Sidr distressed areas from Dhaka to Morelganj and Sannaysi of Bagerhat via Barisal, Baro Machua, Mathbabira of Pirojpur, for carrying relief items and relief teams free of cost.

BIWTC also offered fare-free carrying of relief items on its vessels till further order, the official added.

Meanwhile, a week-long programme on HIV/AIDS ended in Barisal with a call for raising moral values and making social commitment for prevention of the deadly disease.

The programmes on HIV/AIDS with slogan 'prevention of AIDS-our commitment, take the leadership' that started on November 29 ended in Barisal yesterday emphasizing on upbringing moral values in personal, family and social lives and combined efforts of class of the society with commitments.

Association of Voluntary Action for Society (AVAS), a prominent non-government organization of Barisal region arranged these programmes funded by UNFPA. The programmes included quiz and debate competitions in educational institutions and motivational discussions in religious institutions, rallies, cultural functions, different types of awareness programs, including installing boards, placing banners, carrying festoons, shutting posters, lauching cassettes and CDs on HIV/AIDS.

The closing ceremony of the program was held at Barisal BDS Auditorium with a day-long roundtable conference among 53 prominent leaders and personalities of different professional, social, religious, cultural organizations, groups and classes.

Rahima Sultana Kajal, Executive Director, presided over and Murad Ahmed and Mousumi Jahan, project officials of AVAS conducted the program which was attended by Santosh Kumar Talukdar, additional divisional commissioner, Kazi Mortaz Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police, Dr Aziz Rahim, principal of Barisal SBMC, Dr. Maniruzzaman, director of Barisal SBMCH, as chief and special guests.

In the roundtable discussion it was disclosed that the number of AIDS patients in Bangladesh was detected 626 till 2000 and it was increased to 223 in 2006 and 333 till November 2007. Thus, the risks of HIV/AIDS are quickly increasing in Bangladesh.

The participants emphasized on rearing moral values and maintaining strict principles regarding religious, social, personal and family lives as well as increasing awareness in the society for taking preventive and precautionary measures in sex life and attitude.

Sermons in religious programs and functions, curriculum in text books, regular blood test and checkup of expatriate nationals and foreigners after entering inside our country, compulsion of submitting medical certificate before marriage registration and issuing health cards to the sex workers and their clients, also suggested by them.

They also called for more cautions and hard implementation in ensuring safe blood transfusion, using one time usable and dispensable injecting syringe, controlling drug addiction, learning lessons from success in HIV/AIDS prevention in Thailand and Egypt.

HIV/AIDS patients also be encouraged to prove their accountability to the society and society also have to ensure social rights of their living without any humiliation and fight against this deadly disease could only be won by a total combined and sincere efforts of all classes and professions of the society.