Stay alert as water may rise in the central region

The deputy commissioners were asked to take preparations and repair flood control embankments on a regular basis through the Test Relief and Food for Works programmes amid apprehension that water may rise in the central and lower parts of the country.

The DCs were also told to convene regular meetings of the disaster management committees in their respective districts and ensure participation of everyone concerned.

Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya gave the directives at the meeting of the deputy commissioners at the secretariat on the first day of the DC's Conference.

Meetings of the disaster management and relief, labour and employment, and power, energy and mineral resources ministries were held simultaneously with the DCs.

Maya thanked the DCs for their steps taken during disasters -- floods, landslides and cyclone Mora -- and said the government has enough stock of relief.

The ministry would increase allocation for district administration to be given to the poor, destitute and disabled people, the Cabinet Division said in a statement.

The government would also take projects to bring the children involved in different types of hazardous jobs into the mainstream.

The decision came at a meeting with State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu.

After the meeting Mujibul told The Daily Star a survey on the children involved in different types of hazardous jobs would be completed within months.

They would launch projects in next fiscal year, he added.

The government would consider giving compensations to the owners of land, which would be used for installing gridlines and electric poles.

The government would also modernise all power supply lines gradually to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

Prime Minister's Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid were present at the meeting.

WAIVE INTEREST FOR ONE YEAR

In another meeting attended by Finance Minister AMA Muhith and State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, the DCs recommended that all interest payments on agricultural loans in flood affected areas should be waived for a year.

In response, MA Mannan said small NGOs would be badly affected in case of such a move. He added the government might consider suspending collection of interests for a certain period, said meeting sources.

The DCs also recommended preparing a database of the rich in the villages to collect income tax from them.

Officials of the National Board of Revenue said they would arrange camps at upazila level to collect income tax.

The DCs also recommended that they should be incorporated during preparing development projects. They would be able to enrich the process with their practical knowledge which would help implement the projects properly, they argued.

Responding to another proposal, finance ministry officials said they would consider selling Saving Bonds through the Sonali Bank in village areas.

A second treasury building would be built in northern part of Dhaka city under Dhaka district administration for smooth distribution of question papers of different public exams, meeting sources said.

The finance minister also asked the DCs to provide all sorts of supports for increasing revenue collection, added the sources.