Haor Fishermen: 50,000 get into VGF programme

The government has brought 50,000 flood-affected fishermen of the haor region under the Vulnerable Group Feeding programme.

Under the safety net scheme, each fisherman would be provided with 30kg of rice and Tk 500 a month, Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury told journalists after an inter-ministerial meeting at the ministry yesterday.

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Relief and Disaster Management Secretary Shah Kamal said the government already began providing assistance to 3.3 lakh people affected by the flashfloods in the Sylhet region, and the 50,000 fishermen were the new inclusion in the scheme.

According to a government report presented at the meeting, the recent disaster in the haors across six districts and floods in Natore and Brahmanbaria have left 18,205 houses damaged fully or partially.

Inundation of 2.5 lakh hectares of land caused a loss of about 7.5 lakh tonnes of rice, 214 tonnes of fish, 4,000 ducks and four buffaloes. Some 8.5 lakh families were affected by the recent disaster.