The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The US Congress on Tuesday passed a bill asking the Bush administration to provide all necessary assistance to the cyclone victims in Bangladesh.

The House of Representatives expressed sympathy to the victims and pledged the support of the House of Representatives and the people of the United States for the victims of cyclone Sidr.

A spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka said yesterday that Congressman Steve Rothman of New Jersey introduced the bill on December 4.

Twenty-nine Congressmen co-sponsored the Bill, which was approved by 388 votes in favour and none against.

Rothman (for himself) Schiff, Engel, Hastings of Florida, McDermott, McGovern, Ryan of Ohio, Moran of Virginia, Israel, Fattah, Ms Kaptur, Berman, Ms Bordallo, Crowley, Wexler, Honda, Ms McCollum of Minnesota, Davis of Illinois, Bluemenauer, Cohen, Ms Jackson-Lee of Texas, Van Hollen and Ms Lee had submitted the resolution.

In the resolution, the House of Representatives urged the US Government to immediately make available all appropriate assistance requested by the Bangladeshi authorities.

The US Congress reaffirmed its commitment to provide relief aid to the victims as the effects of the cyclone continue to unfold.

"The adoption of the bill can be viewed as a recognition of healthy US-Bangladesh relations. I am deeply satisfied and the Bangladeshi nation is grateful to their friends in the US legislature", Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said.

It is reported that the bill was voted at this time, despite a very crowded calendar, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a special intervention to make room for the adoption.

The resolution said, "Whereas on November 15, Cylcone Sidr hit the coast of southern Bangladesh with 155 mile-an-hour winds that smashed tens of thousands of homes, damaged roads and buildings, and caused a 16-foot tidal surge that ruined thousands of hectares of crops. Early reports have branded the destruction from Cyclone Sidr as the worst in Bangladesh in 16 years."

The resulting damage from the Cyclone is estimated to have affected 4,000,000 people so far through evacuation from and loss of their homes, over half of the affected internally displaced population is children, an estimated 400,000 of whom are under the age of 5. Bangladesh's Disaster Ministry now estimates that the homes of over 750,000 people were damaged or destroyed, the death toll from the cyclone is already at 3,500 and continues to climb, the Bangladesh Red Crescent has warned that the number of dead could ultimately be as high as 10,000.

The 5 districts in southern Bangladesh that were most drastically affected by the cyclone are Patuakhali, Barguna, Bagerhat, Barisal, and Pirojpur, the resolution continued.

Hundreds of thousands of people in remote areas of Patuakhali and Barguna are currently cut off from relief operations, which has caused widespread starving and suffering from the lack of access to drinking water and medicines, one relief worker commented that Bagerhat looked like a 'valley of death' in the days after the storm, an entire island in Barisal, another district of southern Bangladesh, was submerged under at least 6 feet of water and houses were blown away by winds, in Pirojpur it is estimated that it will take at least 1 week to restore the power supply, the resolution said.

The capital, Dhaka, which is located over 130 miles away from the devastated southern coastline, was also impacted by storm, losing access to power and water for days, a massive tidal wave that was caused by Cyclone Sidr hit the Sunderbans, the world's biggest mangrove forest that is home to the endangered Royal Bengal tiger, leaving a wake of death and destruction that have caused experts to declare the forest an `ecological disaster';

Officials at the United Nations World Food Programme have appealed for international aid to help save lives in Bangladesh, noting that food supplies have been severely disrupted by the cyclone and that there was risk of famine; and due to the limited access to water supply and sanitation facilities that millions of Bangladeshis will face, health officials have begun warning against the serious possibility of cholera, dysentery, and other waterborne diseases, the House of Representatives expressed its heartfelt sympathy for the victims of Cyclone Sidr, which has affected southern Bangladesh, the resolution noted.

It conveyed its sincere support to the people of Bangladesh and urged the United States Government to immediately make available all appropriate assistance requested by the Bangladeshi authorities.

The House of Representatives reaffirmed its commitment to provide relief aid to the victims as the effects of the cyclone continue to unfold, the resolution added.