Md Hasanur Rahman Tanzir- The scene of the horror of the cyclone that swept over the region including Feni in Bangladesh last August was filmed at the climate conference. In this year’s Cop-29 in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, men and women affected by the terrible flood of memory, the irony in rescuing children, the scene of young people working with risk in mind has been highlighted.
Ministers of 180 countries including heads of state, high-level government officials as well as NG representatives are participating in this conference. About 80,000 participants took part in the Cop-29.
The flood scene of Feni was presented at the global dialogue organized at the ‘Water for Climate’ pavilion of the climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, yesterday Saturday.
This dialogue is jointly organized by Mission Green Bangladesh (MGB), Youth Platform for Sustainable Development (YPSD), Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), Nature Conservation Management (NACOM) and Change Initiative. Even though several districts including Feni have been flooded, more damage has been done in this Feni. Only according to the information of the Feni district administration, 8 thousand 95 Kanchana houses, 250 half-baked houses were completely destroyed in the flood. The estimated loss is 163 crores 11 lakh 70 thousand taka. The financial amount of partial damage to 53 thousand 433 raw houses and 2 thousand 632 semi-finished houses is 370 crores 78 lakh taka. In total, 64 thousand 415 houses suffered total damage of 533 crores 89 lakh 70 thousand taka. However, there are allegations that, from the beginning, private initiatives were taken to rehabilitate flood victims.
Various NGOs and voluntary organizations have worked extensively. But the government
Not much initiative was taken from the side. Although the government’s relief fund or TSC’s public relief collection program has responded well, there is still a lot of rehabilitation activity visible. The chairman of Caps. Chaired by Ahmed Kamaruzzaman Majumder and moderated by young climate activist Faria Amir, Nature presented keynotes in this dialogue.
Executive Director of Conservation Management (NACOM) and former Additional Secretary of the Government of Bangladesh. Manjurul Hannan Khan, in the original article, depicted the horrors of the August floods, the extent of the damage and the activism of the youth.
M Zakir Hossain Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Change Initiative, Embac Sac, Coordinator of Waterkeepers Senegal, Mahnoor Rashid, Chairperson of Climate Forward Pakistan Advisory Council on Children and Youth Affairs, Saidul Islam, Chief Coordinator of Youth Platform for Sustainable Development- YPSD, United Nations Climate Program spoke as panelists in the dialogue. Asif is a water and climate researcher Iqbal, Water Aid Program and Policy Advocacy Director Perth Hefaz Sheikh and Mission Green Bangladesh Director Kefayet Shakeel, ICAD Youth Representative Al Mamun Rakib and Footstep Foundation President Shah Refayet Chowdhury.
Kefayet Shakeel, a direct victim of the Feni flood and one of the organizers of the event, highlighted his experience and said, I am one of the victims of the Feni flood in August 2024. Even though we were damaged by the flood, we have not received compensation, we don’t know when we will get it. I think the only thing we got was the immediate support that the youth gave us. So I think there is a need to empower the youth, especially to ensure water and air justice.
