Gen Masud rules out talks with politicians

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Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Army Lt General Masud Uddin Chowdhury ruled out the necessity of sitting with politicians to discuss the matters relating to relief goods for the cyclone victims and said all should respond to the humanitarian cause, reports UNB.
"I don't think it is necessary to sit with the politicians for the relief. People should come forward with the relief materials out of their own commitment," he said while exchanging views with the business community Tuesday on the exigencies of cyclone aftermath.
Adviser for Food and Disaster Management Ministry Tapan Chowdhury also attended the function, where main business bodies pledged their assistance for the distressed people in the storm-stricken south and southwestern regions, who have nowhere to go and nothing to survive on.
General Masud apprised the meeting that, according to figures collated until Tuesday noon, a total of 3,113 people were killed while another 1,063 remained missing since the devastating cyclone Sidr struck Thursday night.
About one million families were affected and three million people became homeless. About 250 thousand (2.5 lakh) livestock perished in the disaster.
Present among others were FBCCI President Mir Nasir Hossain, DCCI president Hossain Khalid, president of Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry Moshiul Karim, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Latifur Rahman, president of AmCham Syed Ershad, Executive Director of AmCham MA Gafur, BGMEA president Anwarul Alam Chowdhury and BKMEA chief Fazlul Haq.
During the meeting, Masud Uddin Chowdhury said according to army findings, the cyclone affected 30 upazilas of 15 districts. Of those, seven are the worst hit.
"People of those areas have nothing to survive on and that's why people from all over the country have to come forward and work unitedly to tackle the situation," the army PSO said, making an emotional appeal for help for the down-and-outs.
Asked about the Red Crescent-calculated higher figure, which apprehended that the death toll could cross 10,000, he said he was unaware about the basis of their survey.
Journalists asked him if there had been any lack of coordination between the government and the Army in this regard, as there has been a gap between the death figures given by the two sides. He replied: "There's a gap of 300 only in the two tolls, which matters little."
He also said that their people would reach all the affected areas with relief supplies by the day (yesterday).
About the prognosis about another up-and-coming cyclone, nicknamed Nargis, which could sweep the country in the middle of December, he said, "We are discussing the matter."
Speaking on the relief and rehabilitation work, he said, "We are trying to fulfil the basic requirements of the people initially, and later, we will take initiatives to rehabilitate them."
He felt that more relief materials were needed for the people of the cyclone-affected areas.
Adviser Tapan Chowdhury called upon all, including the politicians, to come forward to work together in aid of the victims.
When asked about the emergency, the functionary of the caretaker government said that emergency wouldn't be a barrier to relief-distribution work.
He also called upon the business community to keep stable prices of the daily essentials for the sake of the cyclone-affected people.
Mir Nasir said his apex trade body would reach the affected areas with relief materials after holding talks with the district-level chambers.
In the meeting BGMEA expressed the willingness to distribute 500 thousand (5 lakh) pieces of T-shirt and vest while BKMEA pledged to supply 100 thousand pieces of sweater and 200 thousand pieces of shirt and pant.
The business bodies will confirm the figures after their meetings Sunday.