Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), ruling party BNP's student front, on Friday issued a 10-point emergency directive for its leaders and activists to strengthen rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts for people affected by the ongoing floods in different parts of the country.
The directive was announced in a press release signed by JCD Office Secretary (with the status of Vice-President) Md. Jahangir Alam.
According to the statement, continuous rainfall and hill torrents from across the Indian border have created severe flooding in Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Rangamati, Bandarban, Cox's Bazar, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj and several other districts.
In response, the organisation instructed all its units to stand beside flood victims, continuing what it described as its longstanding tradition of humanitarian assistance.
The directive asked leaders and activists to extend maximum support in evacuating flood-affected people to safe shelters and to help move livestock to secure locations.
It also instructed every organisational unit to keep rescue teams ready, coordinate relief operations with local BNP leaders and ensure the availability of dry and cooked food, oral saline, water purification tablets, alum and essential medicines.
JCD also directed its units to coordinate with local residents to ensure the security of homes left vacant by families staying in shelters.
The organisation further instructed its leaders and activists to provide educational materials to students after the floods, prioritise assistance for women, children and elderly people, form medical teams to ensure healthcare in affected areas and actively participate in rehabilitation work, including the reconstruction of damaged embankments.
The statement warned that diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea and dysentery could spread after the floodwaters recede. It therefore asked every unit to form medical teams and prepare to distribute medicines and other necessary medical supplies.
JCD President Rakibul Islam Rakib and General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir will oversee the overall flood response, the statement said.
It also instructed all organisational units to regularly submit updates on their humanitarian activities to the party's central office.
The organisation's central leaders said every leader and activist must fulfil their humanitarian responsibility by standing beside people in distress and ensuring maximum support during the disaster.