Staff Reporter :
A group of rights based Civil Society of 27 organizations demanded the integration of the Internal Displacement policy in the upcoming 7th Five-Year plan to ensure effective rehabilitation of the climate induced displaced people.
They raised the issue from a human chain and organized on Tuesday in front of the National Press Club, Dhaka.
Mustafa Kamal Akanda of EquityBD moderated the human chain and rally. Among others ASM Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishak Federation, Pradip Kumar Roy of Online Knowledge Society, Advocate Shafikul Islam of Bangalesh Krishak Federation, Rafiqul Islam Pothik of Gono Forum, Engineer Foyez Ahmed of Jatyo Sromik Federation, Firuja Begum of Jago Nari, Aminur Rasul Babul of Unnayan Dhara Trust and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD spoke at the occasion.
On behalf of the organizers Mustafa Kamal Akanda placed the major demands which are: Assigning a national organization for collecting data on climate displaced and draft effective and sustainable plan for climate displaced, proposing vocational and skill development training for them, cities must be equipped enough to accommodate the climate displaced people, water and sanitation services must be ensured for them, an Internal Displacement Policy must be incorporated in the upcoming 7th five year plan.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said, within 2050 it is estimated that one of each five person of Bangladesh will be climate migrant. We have to be ready to address their problems.
About 35 per cent people of Dhaka are living in slums and among the slum dwellers about 90 per cent people are climate induced displaced people.
Most of them have come form coastal areas of Bangladesh. 90 per cent of the Kalyanpur slum are form Bhola island. Activities like such slum eviction will hamper Prime Ministers international position in favour of Climate Migrants.
Prodip Kumar Roy said, Bangladesh couldn’t be a Middle-income country without the participation of the slum dwellers. If we want international support for climate displaced, as we have been demanding in different global climate conferences, we will have to establish good example within our country.
