Help from afar for Bangladesh flood victims

DHAKA－As millions of Bangladeshis suffer from one of the worst floods, China Railway Group Limited, or CREC, has provided relief to them just like an old saying in Bangladesh, manush manusher jonno, or humans for humanity.

CREC, which is engaged in the construction of the Padma Rail Link, donated relief supplies during a ceremony at a site office in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka. Engineer Khaled Masood was glad that the CREC has helped the flood victims in a big way.

"Today, I'm proud that my company has stood by the flood victims in the midst of such a big disaster," Masood said.

On the sidelines of the handover ceremony, project director Md Afzal Hossain told Xinhua News Agency that two districts in the northeastern part of Bangladesh had been suffering from severe floods. He said the homes of millions of people had been damaged, and many roads and bridges had also been destroyed.

"The food given here includes about 1,750 kilograms of rice, 450 liters of edible oil and 750 kg of flour and about 700 kg of sugar. All these are essential," he said.

Hossain said the donation will help about 500 families. "The people of Bangladesh will be grateful for this. The government of Bangladesh will be grateful to them," he said.

For the past 20 years, the CREC has been carrying out various development activities in Bangladesh and abroad. The Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, is Bangladesh Railway's biggest project.

Bangladeshi State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman earlier said both the government and private agencies are working in the Sylhet region, which has been facing the worst floods in 122 years.

According to data from the Health Emergency Operation Center and Control Room, the floods killed 107 people between May 17 and July 5. With roads washed away, authorities have been battling to deliver supplies in many northeastern and northern districts.

Shi Yuan, project director of the Padma Rail Link project at CREC, said he is very glad that they could do something to help flood victims.

"If there is any further requirement, we'll organize again," Shi said as workers were loading the relief supplies into an army truck. "Food will soon reach affected areas."

Xinhua