Time to bring Fire Service under disaster management

Says minister

6 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque yesterday said it is high time to bring the Fire Service and Civil Defence department under his ministry from the home ministry. Addressing a discussion on disaster risk reduction, he said, the department is directly linked to disaster management, which has been given the highest priority lately in the wake of recent manmade disasters. Referring to the recent inferno at Nimtoli that claimed lives of 117 people, the minister said, the government is preparing itself to tackle manmade disasters and earthquakes, which pose tremendous threats to Dhaka dwellers. The minister informed that to reduce the number of casualty in manmade hazards and earthquakes, the government has procured sophisticated fire-fighting equipments worth Tk 70 crores in an effort to modernise the department and carry out rescue operations more effectively. Urging the people to become aware of their behaviour and habit of defying laws during extreme circumstances, he said there are plans to train community people for tackling any unexpected events. Speaking about frequent natural disasters taking place in the country, Razzaque also said, the government has failed to repair the embankments damaged by Cyclone Aila last year that left affected people to face further adversities. “The damage of the embankment is so severe that the repair work has become tremendously difficult. But there was no lack of effort from the government side”, he noted. According to the Disaster Management Bureau, Aila on May 25 damaged 213 kilometres of embankments fully and 1,128 kilometres partially on the southwest coast mainly in Satkhira and Khulna.