Shawdesh desk:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticised the then BNP government’s irresponsibility about 1991 devastating cyclone management, urging the countrymen to be cautious in voting such a party to power which chief said so many people didn’t die what was thought.

“I urged the countrymen to be alert as any such person (Begum Khaleda Zia) couldn’t come to the power (again) who showed irresponsibility saying so many people didn’t die as it was thought (in the 1991 cyclone,” she said.

The prime minister made the call while inaugurating 50 Mujib killa, 80 flood-shelter centres and 25 district relief godown-cum-disaster information centres, marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2022.

The day is being observed in the country as elsewhere across the globe today.

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief organised the inaugural programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium here as the premier joined it virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in the city.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has placed its position as a disaster resilient country on the global stage.

“The world believes that whatever disaster appears, Bangladesh is able to tackle that. But, we have to continue the efforts,” she said, urging people to be aware of choosing the right person in the government.

The premier said Bangladesh had witnessed a devastating cyclone in 1991 likewise of 1970, when the then BNP government was not aware of it at all and for this, 1.5 lakh people were killed and many others were washed away.

Sheikh Hasina, also President of the Awami League, said leaders and workers of her party stood beside the cyclone affected people prior to the government, adding, she herself visited various Islands in Chattogram and helped the distressed people.

The prime minister said, “When I told the parliament that thousands of people died in the cyclone, at that time, the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia replied so many people didn’t die, as it was supposed.”

State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman and its Secretary Md Kamrul Hasan, spoke at the function.

On behalf of the prime minister, Dr Enamur Rahman handed over awards to 83 CPB volunteers for their contribution to disaster risk management.

A video documentary on the disaster risk reduction activities was screened at the function.

The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is being observed since 1989, after a call by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for a day to promote a global culture of risk awareness and disaster reduction. In 2009, the UNGA officially designated 13 October as the date to commemorate the day.

The 2022 edition focuses on “Early warning and early action for all”.