Feature: China Railway Group donates relief materials for Bangladesh flood victims

Workers carry relief materials donated by China Railway Group Limited (CREC) in Keraniganj on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 5, 2022. As millions of Bangladeshis were deluged in some of the country's worst flooding ever, China Railway Group Limited (CREC) provided relief. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- There is a saying in Bangladesh "manush manusher jonno" (Humans are for humanity). As millions of Bangladeshis were deluged in some of the country's worst flooding ever, China Railway Group Limited (CREC) provided relief, just like the old Bangla saying.

CREC, engaged in the construction of the Padma Rail Link, donated relief materials to a ceremony in a site office in Keraniganj on the outskirts of capital Dhaka. Engineer Khaled Masood is glad to know that CREC has stood by the flood victims in a very good way.

"Today I'm proud that my company has stood by the flood victims in the midst of such a big disaster."

On the sidelines of the handover ceremony, Md Afzal Hossain, project director, told Xinhua that two districts in the northeastern part of Bangladesh had been suffering from severe floods. He said the homes of millions of people had been damaged, and many roads and bridges have been destroyed.

"The food given here includes about 1,750 kg of rice, 450 liters of edible oil and 750 kg of flour and about 700 kg of sugar. All these are essential," he said.

According to the official, it will help about 500 families. "The people of Bangladesh will be grateful for this. The government of Bangladesh will be grateful to them," he said.

For the past twenty years, CREC has been carrying out various development activities in Bangladesh and abroad. The Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, is the biggest project of the Bangladesh Railway.

Bangladeshi State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman earlier said that both the government and private agencies are working in the Sylhet region, which has been facing the worst floods in 122 years.

According to a daily flood report of the Health Emergency Operation Center and Control Room, the floods killed 107 people between May 17 and July 5. With roads washed away, authorities have been battling to deliver supplies in many northeastern and northern districts.

Shi Yuan, project director of the Padma Rail Link project of CREC, said he is very glad that they could do something to help flood victims.

"If there is any further requirement we'll organize again," Shi said. "Food will soon reach affected areas," he said as workers were loading the relief materials into an army truck.

Bangladeshi soldiers were deployed last month to help the Sylhet region. Troops have since remained deployed to deal with rising water levels in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, 296 km northeast of the capital Dhaka.