Bangladesh News

India yesterday lifted its ban on rice exports to the tune of five lakh tonnes to help Bangladesh deal with its food shortages and also proposed to pay for the full rebuilding of 10 villages badly affected by Sidr.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made the announcement during his daylong visit to Bangladesh yesterday, which follows discussions with Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury on the sidelines of the Commonwealth leaders summit in Uganda recently.

During a press conference at a city hotel before his departure, Mukherjee told reporters that the ban has been partially lifted to help Bangladesh meet the demand for rice, which the government estimated to be around a million tonnes.

India earlier banned rice exports to protect its domestic market from shortage, but decided to export five lakh tonnes to Bangladesh in view of Sidr ruining the south-west coastline’s Aman crop.

Last week, the government asked donors to purchase five lakh tonnes of food relief from overseas, so that the fragile domestic food market remains undisturbed.

Mukherjee said India’s public operators would procure the rice in India, which can then be purchased by Bangladeshi public or private buyers.

India had already waived the rice export ban for 50,000 tonnes immediately after the cyclone and had also provided 20,000 tonnes as direct relief.

Asked whether India would subsidise the rice, Mukherjee dismissed the possibility saying India’s rice export price is already competitive considering global prices of rice.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury told reporters the government is touched by the gesture and India’s proposal to “adopt” 10 coastal villages fits into the government’s medium- to long-term rehabilitation programme.

Mukherjee said India proposed to pay for the rehabilitation of people in 10 badly affected villages chosen by the Bangladeshi government. He added the government would have to execute the plan but India would pay whatever is required including repairing and building roads and cyclone shelters.

The external affairs ministers, a Bengali, arrived early yesterday morning in an Indian Air Force plane carrying more than 36 tonnes of relief goods, including ready-to-eat meals, milk powder, medicines, water filters and blankets.

He visited two of the worst cyclone-hit areas, Sharonkhola and Patharghata, after he met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and the foreign adviser in Dhaka. Communications Adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin accompanied Mukherjee.

MUKHERJEE DISTRIBUTES RELIEF
As part of his daylong tour of Bangladesh, Pranab Mukherjee distributed relief goods among the cyclone-hit people at Rayenda in Sharonkhola upazila yesterday, UNB reports.

A helicopter of Bangladesh Air Force carrying Mukherjee from the capital landed at Rayenda helipad at 3:40pm. He went to an army camp at Rayenda School where local army commander Lieutenant Colonel Sayeed Siddiqui briefed him about the losses caused by cyclone Sidr in the district.

The Indian minister visited the affected areas in Rayenda and distributed relief goods among the victims.

Mukherjee said, “I have come here to convey sympathy to the cyclone-affected people on behalf of my government.”

He expressed hope that the affected people would be able to overcome the losses caused by cyclone Sidr. He also visited an army-run water plant at Rayenda.

Mukherjee left for Dhaka at 4:08pm, concluding his relief mission.

Communications Adviser MA Matin, Foreign Secretary Mohammad Towhid Hossain, Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty and Jessore GOC Maj Gen Rafiqul Islam were present during the Indian minister’s visit.