Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has allocated adequate assistance in Cox's Bazar for the helpless people including the unemployed in the current situation caused by the corona virus.
This assistance includes rice and money which has been distributed equally in each upazila of the district. This government assistance has reached people of the grassroots level through the Upazila Nirbahi Officers.
The district administration released these information including information on where and how the allocations have
been distributed, on Wednesday noon.
According to the district administration, Cox's Bazar district has received allocations in five phases for distribution among the temporarily unemployed and distressed people as a result of the restrictions imposed to prevent corona virus infection. Of this, 1,650 metric tons rice, Tk 96 lakh and for baby food purchase Tk 26 lakh was allotted.
Based on the demand received from the chairpersons of the Union Parishads through the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, the assistance received from the government has been sub-allocated equally among the Upazilas based on the number of families, poverty, risk level etc.
Separate allocations have also been made based on the municipality. Of this, 125.2 metric tons of rice was allotted to 12,473 families of Cox's Bazar Municipality, 111 metric tons to 1,063 families of Chakaria Municipality, 52 metric tons to 3,100 families of Maheshkhali Municipality and 22 metric tons to 4,060 families of Teknaf Municipality.
A total of 1,550 metric tons of rice has been allocated for 138,439 families. According to the data, Tk 85,73,108 and for procurement of baby food Tk 21,00,000 cash has been sub-allocated at the upazila level too.
On the other hand, there is a stock of 300 metric tons of rice, Tk 20 lakh 17 thousand and Tk 6 lakh for the purchase of baby food for emergency distribution.
In addition to government relief in the current situation, various individuals and non-governmental organizations, such as political parties, NGOs, individuals, organizations, etc. in coordination with the upazila administration has distributed relief to helpless people at different levels of the society.
According to the district administration, the Prime Minister has already announced to provide rice at the rate of 20 kg per month to 5 million families across Bangladesh. 65,000 families in Cox's Bazar district will be covered under this facility.
Deputy Commissioner Kamal Hossain said it was a difficult task to compile an accurate list of potential beneficiaries in the distribution of relief. Usually, the list drawn up by the local public representatives is finally approved.
In some cases, the names of suitale persons have been omitted from the list, the same person has received multiple benefits, inclusion of anonymous people, etc.
In order to solve this problem, under the direction of the Prime Minister, an initiative has been taken to prepare a complete list using digital technology with the help of Access to Information Programme of the Ministry of Relief and Disaster Management, Department of Information and Communication Technology. Through this, it will be possible to avoid other errors, including duality, in the distribution of relief.