Bangladesh: Disaster management law to be formulated to reduce risk - Razzak
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzak today said the government will formulate a time- befitting and people welfare oriented disaster management law to reduce disaster risk effectively.
"We are going to formulate the law so that it could work as a tool for disaster risk reduction," he told a roundtable titled `Disaster Management Law and Expectation of People' at BIAM auditorium here.
Lawmakers Dr Prof Sirajul Akbar, Dhirendra Chandra Debnath Shumbhu, Golam Mawla Rony, Farida Aktar Hira and Tanvir Shakil Joy, Former Director General of Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) Eng. Enamul Haque and Country Director of Action Aid Farah Kabir, among others, addressed the roundtable.
There is a scope to add important suggestion and opinions to the Draft of Disaster Management Act-2010 and it to be placed at cabinet meeting soon, Razzak said.
The initiative of formulating a disaster management law is an important step to facing the potential challenges of different disasters, he added.
Disaster management has emerged as a discipline of knowledge across the world, Razzak said at present disaster management issue has been incorporated at education curriculums of the different academic institutions including university to develop expertise on the issue.
The country has achieved a reputation on the field of disaster management issue at international level; he said adding, "After passing of the law, it will help to sustain our reputation on disaster management."
The minister said Bangladesh is a disaster prone country and it witnesses different kinds of disasters including flood and river bank erosion in every year.
The country needs to take a comprehensive programme to minimize losses of lives and property caused by different disasters, he added.
Dr Prof Sirajul, also chairman of Red Crescent Society, said the live and livelihood issue is deeply related to the disaster management issue, saying it should be incorporated to the law an effectively manage livelihood issue of the disaster victims.
He stressed the need for building volunteers from grassroots to national level to face different disasters successfully and said it is very difficult to reduce disaster risk without making enough volunteers.
Lawmakers and others speakers expressed their opinions to pass the law immediately as it will help significantly on the disaster management issue of the country.
Disaster vulnerable areas of the country should be incorporated in the law with special attention for effective disaster management to reduce disaster risk, they added.