BNP yesterday demanded the government immediately declares the flood-hit areas of the northeastern region as ‘disaster zones’ and provide all the affected people with adequate relief materials.
Speaking at a council of BNP’s three wards at Bhatra under the Dhaka North City unit, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the party secretary-general, also bemoaned that the government is occupied with the inauguration of the Padma bridge when thousands of flood victims are suffering.
“Floods are raging the country. The vast areas starting from Sylhet-Sunamganj to northern Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram were submerged by floodwaters,” he said.
Referring to media reports, Fakhrul said the water levels of major rivers, including the Padma, Meghna and Jamuna, are increasing flooding in many areas as the Indian authorities opened all the gates of the Farakka Barrage.
The BNP leader went on to lament that the government could not sign an agreement with India on the sharing of water of the common rivers for over a decade.
The government has long been talking about concluding the Teesta water-sharing agreement, but it has not been done yet.
“When they [India] suddenly open the gates of Farakka barrage, it is not possible to tackle the rush of water. Sylhet, Sunamganj and the other regions are now facing this problem. This is proof of the knee-jerk foreign policy of this government and its negligence towards people.”
The dams, bridges and roads — constructed in different haor and other regions in an unplanned way to prevent floods — were damaged due to corruption.
“The floodwater is destroying crops, houses, cattle and other valuables of people. We demand that these areas are declared as disaster zones immediately and relief is provided to the people of these areas without any delay.”
The country can witness floods as an adverse impact of climate change. But it is the responsibility of the government to prevent that flood and mitigate the damages, Fakhrul added.