On July 30, 2022 Bagerhat district climate Advocacy forum in collaboration with non-governmental development organization LEDARS demanded adequate budget allocation for the coast in the quarterly coordination meeting.
The quarterly coordination meeting was held under the chairmanship of Advocate Sharifa Khanam, President of Climate Advocacy Forum. The meeting was also attended by Mukherjee Rabindra Nath, vice president of the forum and retired head teacher, Sheikh Asaduzzaman, general secretary and Executive Director of Udayan Bangladesh and other members of the forum.
The southwest coastal area of Bangladesh is highly vulnerable due to climate change. Where, the natural disasters are highly increasing. Cyclones, floods, embankment breaches, heavy rainfall, erratic rainfall, drought and increased salinity are daily companions. Bagerhat District Climate Advocacy Forum is working to highlight the crisis of South West coastal region at the national level and to realize the rights of coastal people.
Although the effects of high tides have not been so pronounced in the past, last year and recently, high tides have overtopped the coastal embankment and brought salt water into the locality, exposing people to unimaginable damage. The shortage of food, water and other essential materials has become evident.
Participants of the meeting said that every person on the coast is aware of salt water invasion. Small schemes of the government have failed to provide security to the coastal people. It is not possible to provide security to the people of the entire coast with such a plan. Heavy coastal damage is likely again during the monsoon season. Adequate budget allocation for the coast should be ensured to solve the coastal crisis. Participants also said that the work going on in the name of river dredging in Bagerhat has turned the rivers into canals. As a result, government initiatives are not sufficient to address waterlogging.
