Slamming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for not visiting the flood victims during her Sylhet tour, BNP on Wednesday said it has proved Awami League’s main goal is to cling to power, not ensure public welfare.
“The Prime Minister went to Sylhet by helicopter to see the flood situation…she had a meeting at the circuit house there. But she did not go among the flood victims to give them courage,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office on the outcome of a meeting of their party standing committee meeting held on Tuesday, he also said, “By not standing beside people at such a miserable time, Awami League has proved that it is not a party to ensure public welfare. Their only goal is to hang onto power by deceiving people and resorting to falsehood.”
Fakhrul said the prime minister wanted to know from Sylhet City Mayor Ariful Haque Choudhury about where BNP was and how much money it gave him. “It’s the complete responsibility of the government, not BNP, to look after the flood-hit people.”
He said the PM went to Sylhet on Tuesday while BNP started distributing relief among the flood-affected people three days earlier.
The BNP leader said their party followers continued distributing relief even among the victims in the remote areas by hiring boats. “The Prime Minister should look at herself a little. What have you done so far for the flood victims and how much money have you allocated?”
Referring to a media report, he said the government has allocated Tk60 lakh for 30 lakh flood-hit people. “The entire Sunamganj district has gone under water while the whole Sylhet, except a part in the city, have been submerged. But they allocated only Tk60 lakh.”
Fakhrul said their standing committee meeting discussed the catastrophic flood situation in several districts including Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Netrokona and Kishoreganj.
“The meeting thinks that the sudden onrush of water from upstream India has plunged the unprepared people into a catastrophe as the authorities concerned have failed to issue a warning before the floods,” he said.
The BNP leader said their standing committee thinks unplanned constructions of roads and dams and poor construction work of embankments are main reasons behind the flood.
“The flood-hit people are going through serious miseries for lack of food, pure drinking water and safe shelter. Many people have been washed away by the floodwaters, but the government has so far failed to provide any accurate information about it. The government’s relief activities are not visible in the flood-affected areas,“ Fakhrul said.
The BNP leader said their standing committee demanded the government immediately announce the flood-hit areas as disaster zones.
He said the meeting also demanded the government’s resignation for what he said its failure to deal with the severe natural disaster.
Source: United News of Bangladesh