Dhaka, Mar 27 (UNB) –Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP), a World Bank supported project, is helping cyclone Sidr affected people of Bangladesh rebuilding their lives and livelihoods.

Cyclone Sidr in 2007 devastated the lives of thousands of people in the coastal belt of Bangladesh. After the cyclone, the World Bank extended support to the government of Bangladesh through the ECRRP, said a World Bank press release.

The project is facilitating restoration of agriculture and infrastructure in cyclone affected areas. This includes the reconstruction of multi-purpose shelters and coastal embankments with a focus on rebuilding these with better designs,. 

The release said that the project has initiated building 230 new and repairing 460 existing multi-purpose shelters. The government has already finished rehabilitation of 140 existing cyclones shelters and started construction of 79 new ones.

To increase food production during the Boro season, the project is focusing on introducing saline resistance agriculture crops in the coastal belt.  Over 135,000 beneficiaries have already been reached in the crop sector, about 22,000 in livestock sector and about 15,150 in the fisheries sector. 

Water Development Board is working on rebuilding the coastal embankments aiming to rehabilitate the areas of land reclaimed from the sea, also known as polders. Rehabilitation of 19 polders, under 9 contracts is at various stages of implementation.

The project is also supporting the preparation and implementation of the first phase of a fifteen year government program for disaster risk reduction. 

The release said that ECRRP became effective in December 2008, and is funded solely by the World Bank - US$ 184 million together with US$ 2.96 million grant money from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.

The Ministries of Local Government, Water Resources, Food & Disaster Management, Agriculture and Fisheries & Livestock and Planning are collectively implementing this initiative.

The Management Committee of the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) has allocated US$ 25 million towards the cyclone shelter component of this project.