Probe committee starts investigating into landslides

A probe committee began its work to investigate the causes of landslides in Chittagong and the three hill districts on Tuesday. In the wake of the recent deadly catastrophes, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief had formed the 27-member committee on June 15. The committee is headed by Satya Brata Saha, additional secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, who was also asked to put forward a set of recommendations to avert future loss of lives from landslides. The committee visited the landslide-affected areas of Rangamati on Tuesday and Bandarban on Wednesday, and spoke to local representatives and the people affected. The probe committee held its first meeting with stakeholders in the Chittagong Divisional Office on Tuesday morning as well. Talking to reporters following the meeting, Satya Brata Saha said that they would come up with viable and implementable set of recommendations to avoid future fatalities from landslides in the country. “The newly-formed committee comprises of a wide variety of representatives. This committee may also co-opt other individuals in the future if needed. We are going to visit the landslide-ravaged areas of Rangamati and Bandarban. We will talk to the people affected by the landslides, indigenous communities and local representatives with a view to identify the reasons behind the recent catastrophic landslides,” said Satya Brata. Answering a question, Satya Brata said: “No deadline has been fixed as of yet for the task. However, we will try our best to submit the recommendations as soon as possible.” The tragic landslide of June 11, 2007 in Chittagong claimed the lives of 127 people, prompting the formation of two committees which identified 28 reasons behind landslides during monsoon in Chittagong, and put forward a 36-point recommendation to avert possible landslides. Referring to the unimplemented 36-point recommendation, the head of the investigative committee said: “We do not want to look to the past, but rather ahead. Taking stock of the 36-point recommendation, we will decide the next course of action to prevent future landslide casualties.” Addressing the meeting, M Shahidul Islam, a geography professor at Dhaka University, said that the recent landslides were mostly a result of human activity. “Hills should be left alone. Cutting into hills for the purpose of building settlements poses a serious risk of landslides. Stern laws should be enacted to put an end to hill-cutting,” said Shahidul. Abdul Haque, a geography teacher from Chittagong University, said that development work should not be carried out at the cost of damage to hills. “A short term, medium term, and long term approach should be adopted. We should not take a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to mitigate the risk of landslide disasters,” he said. Chittagong Additional Divisional Commissioner Syeda Sarwar Jahan, Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, Chittagong City Corporation CEO Md Shamsuddoha and Joint Secretary Ordhendu Shekhor Roy of the Disaster Management Ministry were present at the meeting, among others.