***Why are we begging to the donors time and again? Why don't we take steps properly and timely? Why did not the government review the ADP and include flood management programme in it?***

IF any scale measures it, the severity and magnitude of the prolonging flood (almost 60 days) would possibly be more than that suffered in 1988. We were almost about to forget the memories of 1988. But after a decade nature again reminds us that it has not forgotten us. And it has happened what is supposed to happen: just a bit more heavily spurring our torment that has caused the worst suffering that we have ever had before.

But the situation would possibly have been different had we prepared at least mentally and logistically to face such worst situation having been experienced from incidences of 1988. We should have learnt rather not forget how to tackle such a griming situation. We should nave learnt more about the precautionary measures of flood and its possible management over this gap of ten years. But we have tailed utterly and its dire consequence is what we face — the present flood situation.

A natural disaster prone country like ours should have adopted a policy to prioritize flood management programme having considered that this phenomenon is recurrent. The morphological structure, unusual rainfall and other seasonal effects due to the rapidly changing climate and unpredictable vulnerability resulting from the Bay of Bengal are all assumed as possible threats to destabilize our normal watery situation. But we are not circumspect enough to protect ourselves. We do not follow the exemplary flood management programmes of other countries, lor Instance. China. Recurrent propensity of flood needs special arrangements to tackle it. It needs pre and post flood therapeutic' management. Pre-flood management requires construction of dams, embankments. dredging of rivers and canals and other infrastructural and logistical assistance measures. But merely these steps can not solve such a

phenomenal riddle, it can only impede the swelling nature of water. A flood leaves behind so many multidimensional problems like crop failure and subsequent food shortage, health hazards, damage of property and infrastructures and so many other things.

Here we see huge shortcomings in thoughts and perhaps total lack of vision. Our authorities concerned, it seems, don’t like to think on a longterm basis. The typical approach they follow Is wait and see policy: let the natural disasters come then we would act accordingly. As a result they rely on relief approach for transient solutions and unfortunately we are having this system work, rather to our peril, since long. The approach should be the long-term "management of flood" rather depending on short-term relief.

The consequences of late understanding of the necessity of flood management have incurred a huge loss to our struggling economy. Crop failures (Aus and Aman) and subsequent food shortage, damages to property and other assets, health hazards caused from water-carried diseases and devastation of communication and other infrastructures probably have surpassed the previous levels of loss caused by floods and have just shattered our hopes. How the poor people across the country will strive, survive and resume their livelihood perhaps would be mind boggling to think. How the government would compensate their losses and regenerate the overall economy is a question that needs rigorous analysis.

The 1998 flood has raised several questions on the credibility's of the government Itself. It is very unfortunate for us that we didn't have any visionary

government. All the political parties so far climbed to the pinnacle of power have played the same tune. They lacked radical thinking for policy formulation. We nave not yet found any government poised with pragmatic policies and steps to combat this phenomenal natural disaster. All governments should have been cognizant about flood and therefore needed to follow appropriate policies to manage it. But what we see in reality? After 1988 the BNP government was lucky enough that it had not faced such type of flood. But this cannot be an excuse of merely ignoring the responsl-Sof adopting appropriate management policy. Creation of a Prime Minister's relief fund is not sufficient to handle a huge crisis of all basic necessities in a flood situation. Relief mentality cannot produce any good thing; it only creates dependency.

One just wonders why all the governments did not take into account the necessity of adopt ing exclusive policy regarding management of flood situation. Why they fail to incorporate such an important issue that is out and out related with our survival? Why ADP (Annual Development Plan) does not prioritize flood management programme? All the government declared the contribution of Internal resources while announcing the budget for undertaking development programmes. last time probably it was approximately 46 per cent of the ADP. But that does not constitute flood management rather envisaged only flood control and water resources. But what would be there for the situation that is in the offing? It Is learnt from the newspaper reports that the planning ministry has already asked the line

ministries to cut expenditures and divert the fund from the less prioritized ADP projects to the flood rehabilitation fund until the donors give assurance to help. (May be in this situation government would be further cautious in future public expenditures!) This is an indirect acknowledgement that the C;overnment has undertaken ess important projects for which funds have been allocated in the ADP. More importantly the government has not taken any pragmatic and consistent steps to manage pre or post flood situation. Flood management and flood control is not the same thing. Perhaps it is very difficult to control flood in a country like us considering various factors. But that does not mean we cannot manage post-flood situation. We can do it analyzing the trend of past 50 years. We can take precautionary measures regarding supply of food, health, medicare facilities, sanitation, safe drinking water, drainage, communication infrastructure and urban planning. But unfortunately we don't think in this way. We can also adopt plan to use local level infrastructures to manage post flood situation.

Was it too difficult to take a nation wide programme or at least a programme for the most flood prone areas on flood management? Such a programme could easily be incorporated in the ADP without seeking foreign funds meaning this programme could be easily run by our domestic contributions. The broad conceptual idea of such a programme should come from awareness building regarding availability of basic needs during pre and post flood situation. Constructing dam or embankment Is simply the infrastructural support for flood management. It Is

very much necessary but cannot solve everything of the problem and more so where these supports are not available.

The inherent worst conse-auence of this flood would be tne huge aid dependency. Like many other developing countries we are out and out aid dependent. Aid is a powerful leverage for its owner. In the third world countries, sometimes aid is used for geo political purpose. In Bangladesh we have received plenty of aids since inception for different purposes. Do we find a breakeven point between the expected and supposed to be actual output? Thousands of projects nave been implementing under ADP that constitutes domestic and external contributions. Though we find that domestic contribution has been significantly increased over the years, but could it reflect the project implementation rate? Of course not. What would happen In launching another bunch of new projects if one flood damages everything? Before getting any result all the loopholes should be filled up. Moreover, the donors are not that much spontaneous, as they were few years back. Due to the changing global situation donors' attitude and approach are being changed. They might have dif ferent interests in other regions or they can impose unreasonable conditionalities putting behind our national Interests.

The government has sought another several hundred million of dollars to manage its post flood rehabilitation programme that includes covering up of food deficit to reconstructing communication and other infrastructures. Why are we begging to the donors time and again? Why don't we take steps properly and timely? Why old not the government review the ADP and include flood management programme in it? Why don't we give proper importance to it? Perhaps we will have to wait until our last breadth to have an optimum solution for flood problems.