Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today directed the authorities concerned to take prompt and effective measures to assist farmers affected by heavy rainfall in the haor region of the country.

He also instructed officials to prepare an accurate and transparent list of the affected farmers to ensure that financial assistance reaches the rightful beneficiaries without any irregularities.

The directives were given at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Division office in the Bangladesh Secretariat this afternoon, according to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Wing. The meeting was convened to review ongoing efforts related to financial assistance for farmers in the haor areas.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister said that a verified and transparent list must be prepared by identifying genuinely affected farmers. He added that based on this list, financial assistance would be provided to farmers for the next three months.

The meeting also decided that the distribution of financial aid would be carried out as quickly as possible. In addition, discussions were held on advancing paddy cultivation and harvesting schedules slightly to reduce potential losses caused by adverse weather conditions.

Earlier, on April 29, the Prime Minister informed the Jatiya Sangsad that the government would extend support for three months to farmers affected by heavy rainfall in the haor regions after proper identification.

The meeting was attended by Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid, and lawmakers from haor regions, including Jatiya Sangsad Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md. Shariful Alam, Dr. Osman Faruque, Fazlur Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, Kamruzzaman Kamrul, Nurul Islam, Kalim Uddin Ahmed Milon, and Mohammad Koysor Ahmed.