The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement extended its relief collection program for flood-affected communities in Bangladesh into its fourth consecutive day.
The program, which resumed at 8am on Sunday, saw a shift in location for collecting relief materials from the Dhaka University Teachers-Students Centre (TSC) to the university’s Physical Education Center.
Donors were still able to contribute cash and emergency medicine at a booth set up at the TSC gate, while the Physical Education Center served as the main collection point for other relief items.
Md Lutfor Rahman, a coordinator for the movement, explained that only cash and emergency medicine would be collected at TSC on Sunday, with all other items being gathered at the Physical Education Center.
As with previous days, the collection centre received a steady flow of donations, including money, basic medicines, dry food, clothes, sanitary napkins, water, and life jackets.
The influx of donors, arriving both by vehicle and on foot, caused significant traffic congestion in the university area, prompting the deployment of volunteer traffic controllers.
Shafiq Afsar, a Lalbagh businessman, mentioned that he was unable to donate on earlier days due to prior commitments but came on Sunday with dry food, medicine, and clothes, highlighting their importance for flood victims.
Volunteer Maruf Patowary noted a decrease in the number of donors compared to previous days but acknowledged that the turnout was still notable.
By 5pm on Sunday, the movement had collected a total of Tk52,303,603 at the TSC booth and through banking channels, with Tk3,012,970 already spent.
Relief packages, which include essential dry food and medicine, were prepared from items collected at the TSC, with each truck loaded with 800-1,000 packages and 20-30 cases of water.
From Tuesday to Sunday afternoon, over 50,000 packages were dispatched to flood-affected areas via 50 trucks.
Additionally, 3,000 packages were delivered to remote locations by helicopter, under the supervision of the Bangladesh Air Force, along with Tk396,500 in cash assistance.
