Govt will build homes in safe areas for families at risk of landslides: Disaster minister

The government will relocate families living at the foothills of hills and other landslide-prone areas and build homes for them in safer locations to prevent recurring deaths from landslides, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu has said.

"Recent heavy rains caused landslides in several hill districts, leaving 30 people dead. Of them, five died in Chattogram, 19 in Cox's Bazar, one in Rangamati and five in Bandarban," he told parliament today (9 July) in a statement under Rule 300 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.

He sought cooperation from lawmakers of the affected areas to implement the initiative.

The minister said that the government has already opened a large number of shelters in the affected areas to deal with the disaster, he said, adding that a total of 41 shelters have been opened in Chattogram, 640 in Cox's Bazar, 21 in Rangamati, 135 in Khagrachhari and 220 in Bandarban.

"Thousands of people have taken shelter at the centres, where arrangements have been made for safe drinking water, sanitation, baby food and three meals a day. Authorities are also regularly using loudspeakers to urge locals of risky areas to move to safer locations," he said.

Dulu said the government on 7 July allocated Tk10 lakh in cash from the government relief fund and 200 tonnes of rice to each affected district in the first phase of assistance.

"Later, considering the situation, we allocated an additional Tk25 lakh for Chattogram, Tk20 lakh for Cox's Bazar, and Tk10 lakh each for Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban. We also allocated an additional 300 tonnes of rice for Chattogram, 250 tonnes for Cox's Bazar, and 200 tonnes each for Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban," he added.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman provided a special allocation of Tk20 lakh for each district from his personal relief fund, the minister said, adding that following prime minister's instructions, the ministry secretary is staying in the affected areas, while district and upazila administrations are monitoring the situation and overseeing relief operations.

The minister urged lawmakers from the hill districts to visit their constituencies during the parliamentary recess, oversee relief efforts and contact the ministry if necessary.

He also said people living at the foot of hills or in risky areas face deaths every year due to landslides.

"As a permanent solution, the government will rehabilitate vulnerable families on available khas land and land under the housing ministry and build houses for them," he added.

He called on lawmakers to play an active role in creating public awareness at the local level and urged all stakeholders to work together so that no more lives are lost to landslides in the future.