Editorial
The damage wreaked by Aila
Quick post-cyclone relief called for
CYCLONE Aila has left a trail of devastation in its wake in the south-western region of the country. Estimates put the number of deaths at eighteen, though there is the apprehension that the figures could be higher. Obviously, besides the loss of lives, crops and homesteads have taken the brunt of the cyclone. Though the tidal waves have not been as intense as Sidr, which hit the coastal regions of the country in November 2007, the distress they have caused to people inhabiting the region can only be imagined.
One quite agrees with the thought that natural disasters are occurrences before which Bangladesh has historically been helpless. Even so, the level of seriousness attached to a minimizing of such disasters in recent years is remarkable. Given such an approach, the question of how much preparedness was there regarding Aila can be raised at this point. To begin with, there are some justifiable suspicions that the embankments that had breached during Sidr in 2007 were somehow left in a state of disrepair at a number of spots. In other words, a half-hearted approach to keeping them in good condition, together with the feeling that financial allocation for their upkeep has been inadequate, appears to have been a prime cause behind the extensive damage caused by Aila. Add to that the absence of due emphasis on the likely intensity of the oncoming Aila in the messages relayed to the inhabitants of the vulnerable areas. Such facts can only point to the need for a more concerted and full-time approach to disaster preparedness.
However, in the post-Aila situation, it is necessary for the authorities to go into an assessment of the damage wreaked in the south-west. Clearly, a swift and effective programme of post-cyclone relief and rehabilitation is called for. Apart from a loss of lives and damage to homesteads, there is now the pretty real prospect of diseases affecting the survivors. Besides, the onrush of seawater will have caused salinity, thus posing a very real threat to crops and plans relating to new planting in the near future. With whole families losing their kutcha houses, the necessity for quick relief acquires a sense of urgency. Let the authorities and with them the various NGOs come forward to carry out this humanitarian task.
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