DHAKA: The newly appointed Ambassador of Germany to Bangladesh Dr. Thomas Prinz visited the coastal region of Bangladesh on Wednesday to get an insight of the German Development Cooperation’s activities, says a media release.
The Ambassador opened a mock drill on cyclone preparedness in Nilganj of Patuakhali. The exercise was organised by the German Development Cooperation agency GIZ.
He also inaugurated the Langalkata Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter in Barguna financed by the German Financial Cooperation agency KfW.
The mock drill on cyclone preparedness is a part of GIZ’s disaster risk reduction measures. Around 60 volunteers from the Bangladesh Government’s Cyclone Preparedness Programme and from the local community participated in the drill.
They trained the villagers how to deal with cyclones and jointly carried out first aid and rescue exercises through a simulation of devastations caused by a cyclone.
Langalkata Multipurpose Shelter, located in Barguna district, is one of the 50 shelters financed by KfW together with the World Bank under the Emergency Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP).
It can accommodate up to 1,300 people, providing protection to the population during a cyclone. In addition, these shelters are designed to serve the community as primary schools in normal times.
German Development Cooperation, through KfW and GIZ, is helping to increase Bangladesh’s resilience to floods and natural disasters as well as to rebuild livelihoods destroyed by the cyclones Sidr and Aila.
The long-term goal is to help reduce the potential impacts of future disasters and facilitate adaptation to climate change.
During his visit, Ambassador Prinz emphasized that Germany was a long-standing partner of the people of Bangladesh.
He also said the mock drill and cyclone shelter are part of Germany’s efforts to improve the safety of people living in vulnerable coastal areas and demonstration of Germany’s commitment to helping the Government of Bangladesh counter the effects of climate change.
BDST: 1653 HRS, MAY 20, 2015
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