It is unimaginable what degree of damage flood can cause when it strikes an area. Those of us who do not have such experience simply cannot imagine the extent of the plight of flood affected people. People have to desert their dwellings, leaving behind all their belongings. The immediate concern is to get a dry land.

Severe flooding draws all people, irrespective of their economic status, to the same level. People do not have food, drinking water, fuel, sleeping space, medicine, and sanitation facilities. Sometime, money can not help address the sorrows of the affected people as foodstuff and cooking material become scarce.

So, the flood-affected people need assistance from those who live on dry land, especially from city dwellers. Cooked food, dry food like chira, muri, gur, drinking water, fuel, shelter materials, medicine, even match boxes, are very essential for them.

Astonishingly, the general public has also not responded so far in a bigger way to the impending human disaster.

The government and people, especially the privileged ones, of Bangladesh always look towards foreign aid for combating any natural disaster. This sort of outlook has made Bangladesh a begging country in the eyes of foreigners. But did the poor get the aid money which amounts to over $40 billion (equivalent to over Tk 244,000 crore) till last year since independence? Study shows that whereas, the money comes in the name of the poor, 75 percent of the aid money goes to the pockets of the so-called elite comprising politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, and technocrats.

Our country is poor, but the number of moneyed men is not small. There are several lakh millionaires in our country and their life-style is comparable to any rich man of western countries. If they donate a fraction of their deposited money, millions of people would be saved from devastation. And, I think, it's the moral obligation of the rich, most of who have made money exploiting the poor, to repay their debt during such a natural disaster.

The most disturbing thing that happens during any calamity is the leakage of relief materials. A section of government officials and public representatives do not hesitate to embezzle the relief materials depriving the needy.

We can combat this problem by engaging the armed forces in relief distribution. Our army personnel are carrying out humanitarian operations in foreign countries. They will definitely be able to do it in a better way in their own country.

A coordination-cell should also be established under the control of armed forces for equal and coordinated distribution of relief materials.

Civil society, litterateurs, artistes, teachers, and journalists, and other professional bodies can play a vital role to help the affected people through raising fund and relief materials. Apart from their personal assistance, they can also easily make people aware about the necessity of coming forward in the aid of the distressed humanity.

Those who can do the best are the political parties. But the problem of our politicians is that they always try to do politics with everything. With their innumerable workers and grassroots-level networking, political parties, especially the big ones, can mobilise funds and relief materials for the affected people. Everybody hopes they will do the needful forgetting petty political interests.

And last but not least,the NGOs, especially the larger ones, can really do a great job for the affected people through their countrywide network.

We, the people of Bangladesh, are gradually becoming insensitive, heartless, unkind and unmoved. Even an appalling human disaster can not strike our souls. Nothing tangible has been done for the affected people since the flood struck the eastern part of the country at the beginning of July although various media were alerting us about the floods.

There is a song of Bhupen Hazarika -- Manush Manusher Jonno (Humans are for Humans). It is the time to prove us as human beings by extending our all-out assistance to those who are passing their days in great misery in the water-bound shelters.

Nazrul Islam is a journalist and environmentalist.