THE government鈥檚 inadequate efforts, if not negligence, to resolve pressing issues that warrant early attention appear troubling. The prime issues are the law and order that has not yet been put in order, an increase in goods prices in the absence of effective oversight, the rehabilitation of the victims and the rebuilding of their houses destroyed and damaged by the flood that had submerged 11 districts in Bangladesh鈥檚 east, north-east and south-east and the ongoing river erosion that has so far left more than 700 families homeless in Rajahahi and Chapainawabganj. People standing in breach of the law are reported almost every day in events that may have serious implications for society. Traffic congestion on the road has become a regular menace for most days of the week in the capital city. There has been no visible presence of the police personnel to keep law and order or to keep order on the road. People who had been faced with soaring goods prices during the authoritarian regime of the Awami League, which was toppled on August 5 through a student-mass uprising, continue to face increasing goods prices. Already having been constrained by the pressure of high inflation for a few years, people find it difficult to buy their daily necessities.
The flooding of the 11 districts for a fortnight beginning in the third week of August destroyed, as a disaster management and relief ministry estimate says, 28,386 houses, rendering 150,000 people homeless, and damaged 319,219 houses in the districts. The ministry has estimated the damage from the flooding to the tune of Tk 142.69 billion, warranting serious government efforts in rebuilding and rehabilitation. The flood has washed away 423 culverts and damaged 1,097 others. Highways and roads spanning 3,684 kilometres have been destroyed; 13,782 kilometres of roads and highways have been damaged. The official estimate suggests that the flood has laid waste to infrastructure, housing, road communications and livelihood. The government is reported to have so far received Tk 795.2 million in relief funds opened to help the flood victims, but it has distributed only Tk 50 million in food and cash aid. The government efforts in mitigation, rehabilitation and rebuilding have so far been visibly poor. At least 700 families are, meanwhile, reported to have become homeless because of river erosion in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj. Whilst such a situation could worsen, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre has already warned that the Teesta may flow above the danger mark in five districts in the north. The situation at hand also warrants early government steps to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
The interim government, installed on August 8 after the fall of the Awami League government, certainly has hordes of issues to attend to and the tasks include reforms in various sectors that the authoritarian regime had caused to degrade. And, such reforms may take some time. But the government should also mind the issues that require early, short-term measures. People would, otherwise, continue to suffer.