Raised plinths save 0.13m char households from floods

RANGPUR, July 13 (BSS): Over 0.13 million (1.33 lakh) extremely poor families, living on their raised plinths in low-lying remote char areas on the Brahmaputra basin, have been escaping current floods effectively like in the previous years.
The plinths have been raised to save the char people along with properties from floods under the comprehensive Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) to assist them in becoming self-reliant amid adverse situation and climate change impacts.
Side by side escaping floods, saving properties and cattle heads, the CLP beneficiary families have also been providing shelters to other displaced people when their houses are being inundated in the neighbouring areas.
Livelihoods Coordinator of CLP Dr Mahbub Alam said the char people have been enjoying the privilege following implementation of CLP activities by a number of NGOs since 2004 in ten northwestern riverine districts.
Under the comprehensive livelihoods development programme, plinths of 0.13 million char households have been raised in two phases exceeding the fixed target of 0.11 million (1.17 lakh) households since 2004. The population of these households has been estimated at 0.51 million (5.17 lakh) people.
Of those, plinths of 55,000 households were raised against targeted 50,000 households under CLP phase-I during 2004-2010 and 78,078 against 67,000 households under phase-II during 2010-2016 along with providing assistance to improve livelihoods by 2016.
The UKaid through the Department for International Development (DFID) and Australian Government through Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) have been jointly funding implementation of the CLP.
Under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and management through Maxwell Stamp Plc, CLP is being executed by the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division.