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PRESIDENT-PM-MESSAGE-DISASTER
President, PM stress on awareness to reduce disaster risks
DHAKA, Oct 12, 2020 (BSS) – President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today stressed the need for creating awareness and ensuring active participation of people of all strata alongside the government and non-government organisations in all programmes to reduce disaster risks.
In separate messages on the eve of the International Day for Disaster Reduction- 2020, they urged all to be alert to tackle disasters for minimising the loss of lives and property.
The theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction – ‘Good Governance in Reduce Disaster Risk, Ensure Sustainable Development’—is very significant, they said, adding the government has taken inclusive disaster management porogramme as part of the government pledge to establish good governance.
In his message, the president said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had introduced people’s friendly disaster risk reduction programme for the first time in the country in participation with the people for protecting the lives and property of the people.
The remarkable initiatives, which was taken by Bangabandhu, has taken the disaster management of the country to a hard foundation, he said.
Under the covid-19 situation, Hamid said operation of the shelter centre, relief distribution, transferring cash assistance to the proper persons by applying digital system have played significant role in reducing sufferings of the people during the super cyclone Amphan and the devastating flood.
In a separate message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the Awami League government is implementing various programmes to reduce disaster risk through implementing good governance in disaster management in line with the ideology of Father of the Nation.
“We are the first who had formulated the Standing Orders on Disaster (SOD) in 1997 by assigning particular responsibilities of all the government and non government participants to protect the people from the disaster up to the grass root level”, said the prime minister in her message.
With the formulation of the SOD, the Prime Minister said the causalities due to the disaster has dropped at the lowest level as the SOD has been ensured the preparation ahead of the natural calamities.
“Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the pioneer in implementing disaster risk reduction programmes in the country. He took steps to make Mujib Killa for saving lives from cyclones. He also established Cyclone Preparedness Programmes (CPP) in 1973 for the coastal people of the country,” she added.
The theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is time-befitting, the prime minister said, adding that it is possible to make the disaster management more dynamic by integrating modern technology and indigenous-based knowledge.
She urged the people to be more aware of reducing the loss of life and property caused by natural disasters.
She said the ruling Awami League government is implementing various disaster mitigation and preparedness programmes, adding that recently, disaster-related orders have been updated by the government.
BSS/PR/OG/RY/1920hrs