The New Nation - Internet Edition

BANGLADESH is known as a land of moderate climate. But the winter this year is found to be relatively colder and the differences between the highest and lowest temperature for more than a week appears to be little. In the backdrop of their reduced income for various reasons, the farmers who are in most cases at subsistence levels, are hard pressed to physically survive in the biting cold. The mild winters usually experienced in the country have habituated poor people not to keep good stocks of warm clothes and the present colder winter has pushed them into great difficulties as they have hardly the means to afford winter clothes.

Official assistance to the poor to cope with the situation has been meagre so far or limited to tokenism. Surely, there is a very pressing need to engage in a countrywide official programme to distribute warm clothes to the poor on an emergency basis. Furthermore, the poor should have access to assistance to improve their homes to save themselves from the cold. It is not a formidable task but a rather manageable one for an official agency to count the number of homeless in the cities who dwell on pavements and provide temporary shelter and warm clothes to them. In the longer run, cold-related disasters should be taken into consideration and measures taken to face up to them. As it is, flood, drought and cyclones are considered natural disasters, but not strong winters. Thus, disaster planning should also include plans to cope with harsh winters.

For the time being, every bit of assistance to the poor to help them cope with the situation should be welcome. Thus, even private charities on a large scale at the heart of which should be distribution of warm clothes and cash support to the poor, would be counted as very useful. However, in the long run, assistance to the poor would be best channeled perhaps, through organised institutional charities. For instance, in this case of meeting the winter-related distresses of poor people, the first step should be taking a count of the number in acute need of such help. The government administration can be very effective in taking this count. Secondly, the types of assistance required should be identified. Thirdly, the government should make its contribution towards meeting the needs of assistance and call on private charities to donate in cash and kind to a fund run by it. Fourthly, it should distribute the charities efficiently without corruption. Besides, the government may also ask private charitable organisations to engage in similar relief and rehabilitation activities systematically going by the list of the distressed ones on area or regional basis.