While the government has done a commendable job in ensuring that the damage caused by Cyclone Amphan was minimized, the cyclone left a trail of destruction in its wake nonetheless.
At least 26 people have lost their lives, not to mention the countless houses destroyed and over 150,000 hectares worth of agricultural land affected, with the overall damage estimated to be over Tk1,100 crore.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that, in the aftermath, at least 10 million are now suffering from a power outage, leaving them literally in the dark.
In this regard, we are pleased by State Minister for Power, Energy and Minderal Resources Nasrul Hamid’s directive to officials concerned to restore power to areas affected within the next 24 hours.
The longer these people have no access to electricity, the longer will their suffering be worsened in the situation.
This is especially important for hospitals which are providing much-needed treatment to those who were hurt or injured during the cyclone, and we appreciate the ministry taking steps to provide power to these places by emergency generators if necessary.
By last count, it is encouraging that they were able to restore 50% of the connections, and we hope that officials concerned will continue to take this initiative further until everyone affected has access to electricity as soon as possible.
This will go a long way towards ensuring that the ones most affected by Cyclone Amphan do not have to suffer any more than they already have.