BNP men being barred from distributing flood relief: Tuku

BNP has alleged that the ruling party men and law enforcers are preventing the party activists from carrying out relief efforts for the flood-affected people in the northeast region of the country, reports UNB.
"The air in the country's Sylhet, Mymensingh and Rangpur divisions has become heavy with cries of the flood victims, but the government's assistance for them is extremely inadequate," said party standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.
The BNP leader came up with the remarks while speaking at a press conference at the party Chairperson's Gulshan office in the city on Monday.
He called upon all to come forward to serve the people rising above politics at this bad time in the country.
As a party of people, the Tuku said BNP has already stood by the flood-hit people in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Feni, Netrokona and Kurigram.
He bemoaned that the ruling party activists and police have been obstructing the BNP leaders and activists from distributing relief materials among the flood victims.
Tuku, the convener of BNP's relief committee, said people in the flood-hit areas are starving for lack of food and they are suffering from various diseases for lack of treatment and medicines.
"At this time, they (AL activists) are impeding the distribution of relief materials by BNP. They are attacking our preparatory meeting on relief distribution with sticks and firearms, injuring our leaders and workers while police are foiling our programmes," he said.
The BNP leader said people are venting their anger by saying that they are not getting relief from the government.
Apart from relief, he said people are facing an acute shortage of medicines due to the outbreak of the water-borne disease.
"Skin diseases are now seriously spreading in the flood-hit Haor areas. For lack of medicine, flood victims are applying turmeric and kerosene oil to their bodies. I saw it with my own eyes. the real scenario can't be understood without visiting the areas. The situation there is terrible there," Tuku observed.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has tested negative for Covid-19, eight days after contracting the virus."The BNP secretary general underwent the Covid test on Saturday and his report has now come out negative," said party vice chairman Dr AZM Zahid Hossain.
He also said though Fakhrul recovered from the Covid infection, he is still feeling weak physically.