The donors are coming forward in a spontaneous way to assist the rescue and rehabilitation operations. They have done the preliminary assessment of the damages and have expressed their readiness to play a significant role in shoring up the economy. The first task is to decide the order of priorities. The crucially important sectors like agriculture, communications, and education have been battered beyond description. Quick measures are needed to create the situation in which farmers can start life anew following the colossal damage to crops. Similarly, the badly ruptured roads and highways have to be repaired on an emergency basis. Finally, it has to be ensured that education at the school and college levels is restarted without further loss of time. Another daunting task is to face the health hazards like water-borne diseases and respiratory trouble that a huge number of children have contracted in the affected areas.

Then coordination among the government organisations, NGOs and international agencies will be pivotal to the task of implementing post-flood recovery plans. The UN officials have rightly laid emphasis on this point. The government better be on guard against corruption. It could seriously consider the suggestion put forward by a planning ministry official that a central cell be set up to prevent malpractice of any kind.

Our development partners are quite willing to render the assistance we need at this hour of need. However, it would be worthwhile to create the conditions in which their contributions will have a bigger impact on the rehabilitation activities.

Could we urge the government to consider setting up a special fund for dealing with the calamities of the nature we are undergoing now? Since there is no way to prevent floods, we should remain prepared with money and material to cope with their effects.