Helping out the victims of Chittagong tragedy
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
INCESSANT torrential rains have wreaked havoc on Chittagong city life as well as triggered disastrous mudslides that swept away settlements lying at the foot of small hills in the port city and its adjacent areas. The calamity took a heavy toll of life. According to the latest report received so far some 98 people lost their lives till Tuesday morning and more than 200 got injuries as a result of mudslide and wall-collapse at Lebupara area near Chittagong Cantonment, Pahartali, Kusumbagh in Stakunda, Bayezid Bostami and Sekunderpara of Bhatiari. Meanwhile, two thirds of the Chittagong city area went under water in the wake of the incessant rains and sea tide during the last 24 hours on Monday. The army and the BDR, the fire brigade, the Chittagong City Corporation, the divisional and the district administration, the police and the common people in different localities have taken part in the rescue operation. The wounded are receiving treatment at the Chittagong Combined Military Hospital and the Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Those involved in the rescue operation have expressed fear that the death toll may rise further.
Side by side with the ongoing rescue operation, the administration has taken necessary measures to supply relief including food, medicine to the affected areas. The victims of the disaster will also need immediate assistance to build shelters that they have lost as a result of the mudslide and money to survive in the uncertain days ahead. Philanthropic organisations, NGOs and the rich need to rise to the occasion and join hands with the administration to provide succour to the suffering humanity in the affected areas. In any case of disaster, whether of natural or human origin, it is always the children, the women -- pregnant women in particular, and the very old who are the most helpless of the lot. The ones in question are no exceptions. Those still alive in the affected areas belonging to this most vulnerable group will be in desperate need of food, shelter, and treatment for the psychological trauma they have experienced as a consequence of the sudden disaster out of the blue.
Apart from the destruction and loss of life caused by occasional cyclones, tidal bores, storm surges and earthquakes that frequently visit the port city, the sheer number of the dead and the wounded in the mudslide, wall-collapse and other attending misfortunes of Monday indicates that it is the worst tragedy of its kind in recent memory.
Since the tragic incidents of mudslide in the hills and the collapse of wall was triggered by the relentless downpour, it may seem logical to think that humans have no hand in the disaster and, therefore, there is none to take the blame, if any, for the tragedy that befell the families in the localities hit by the sudden calamity. Strange though it may seem, it is not really nature, but humans, who should take the responsibility for the tragedy. Take the case of landslide caused by the rains. Though mudslide may sometimes occur due to purely natural causes, in the present case it is humans who are the real culprits behind the landslide in the hills. That is because the hills have lost their natural protection against the erosion caused by the sudden rush of water flowing down them during heavy rains and hailstorms.
Indiscriminate cutting of hills and removal of the natural bushes and grasses from their sides have put the lives of the people living in the hilly areas in real danger. Monday's tragedy may well just be the tip of the iceberg. Similar visitations in the form of downpour or other kinds of natural calamities may set off disasters far worse than what descended on the unsuspecting victims in different areas of Chittagong.
From the global perspective, the Chittagong tragedy is not an isolated incident. Unforeseen meteorological phenomena like typhoons, downpours and tsunamis striking different parts of the world have necessary links to the Chittagong catastrophe. The remedy lies in stopping the suicidal practice of cutting down hills, denuding forestlands and committing other crimes against nature.
Side by side with the ongoing rescue operation, the administration has taken necessary measures to supply relief including food, medicine to the affected areas. The victims of the disaster will also need immediate assistance to build shelters that they have lost as a result of the mudslide and money to survive in the uncertain days ahead. Philanthropic organisations, NGOs and the rich need to rise to the occasion and join hands with the administration to provide succour to the suffering humanity in the affected areas. In any case of disaster, whether of natural or human origin, it is always the children, the women -- pregnant women in particular, and the very old who are the most helpless of the lot. The ones in question are no exceptions. Those still alive in the affected areas belonging to this most vulnerable group will be in desperate need of food, shelter, and treatment for the psychological trauma they have experienced as a consequence of the sudden disaster out of the blue.
Apart from the destruction and loss of life caused by occasional cyclones, tidal bores, storm surges and earthquakes that frequently visit the port city, the sheer number of the dead and the wounded in the mudslide, wall-collapse and other attending misfortunes of Monday indicates that it is the worst tragedy of its kind in recent memory.
Since the tragic incidents of mudslide in the hills and the collapse of wall was triggered by the relentless downpour, it may seem logical to think that humans have no hand in the disaster and, therefore, there is none to take the blame, if any, for the tragedy that befell the families in the localities hit by the sudden calamity. Strange though it may seem, it is not really nature, but humans, who should take the responsibility for the tragedy. Take the case of landslide caused by the rains. Though mudslide may sometimes occur due to purely natural causes, in the present case it is humans who are the real culprits behind the landslide in the hills. That is because the hills have lost their natural protection against the erosion caused by the sudden rush of water flowing down them during heavy rains and hailstorms.
Indiscriminate cutting of hills and removal of the natural bushes and grasses from their sides have put the lives of the people living in the hilly areas in real danger. Monday's tragedy may well just be the tip of the iceberg. Similar visitations in the form of downpour or other kinds of natural calamities may set off disasters far worse than what descended on the unsuspecting victims in different areas of Chittagong.
From the global perspective, the Chittagong tragedy is not an isolated incident. Unforeseen meteorological phenomena like typhoons, downpours and tsunamis striking different parts of the world have necessary links to the Chittagong catastrophe. The remedy lies in stopping the suicidal practice of cutting down hills, denuding forestlands and committing other crimes against nature.