A meeting convened to discuss the preparedness of monsoon and to adopt preventive measures in future and action to be taken before the onset of monsoon was held at South Goa Collectorate building in M

Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka said that over 7,000 families have been displaced due to floods. Also, several areas are in danger with landslides, the Centre added.

Women, the primary caregiver in family, are the most vulnerable group to climate change, said the speakers at a seminar yesterday.

M. Shashidhar Reddy, Congress MLA and member of the National Disaster Management Authority, on Sunday wanted the World Bank to focus on funding disaster prevention. Delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the Sustainable Development Network Week organised by the Global Forum for Disaster Risk and Recovery (GFDRR) of the World Bank at Washington, Mr. Reddy said the bank at present approached natural disasters in a manner that was reactive rather than proactive and strategic. "When the World Bank is being reactive, project objectives provide for short-term fixes and rarely address the root causes of disaster. Projects are rushed to approval but then disbursement is delayed. Reconstruction projects build infrastructure that is not disaster resilient and the time required for implementation is consistently underestimated,' he said in a press release from Washington. Need for review There was a need to review the working of the World Bank itself to see how it could further get involved in disaster prevention, which will contribute significantly to sustainable development. Quoting from an evaluation about the bank's funding of projects across the world, he observed that it had mostly lent for emergencies since its inception. Some 110 countries have borrowed for natural disasters for about 528 projects covering more than 60 different activities. Reconstruction focus But these focused primarily on reconstruction with just 21 (out of 528) projects being wholly devoted to prevention. His other suggestions included preparing a strategy that takes into account the differing vulnerabilities of borrowing countries, modifying current operational guidelines so that they address the long-term development needs of borrowers and ensuring that the bank has sufficient specialised expertise available to respond quickly. Highlight A highlight of this year's events was the session under the cross-cutting theme "Investing in Disaster Prevention for Sustainable Development,' he said. The opening session was chaired by Kathy Sierra, Vice-President, Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank. "In India there is now a paradigm shift in our approach from the rescue and relief centric approach to a holistic approach covering all phases including pre-disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness,' he said.

The West Bengal government has offered 111 truckloads of rice and other relief material for the victims of recent cyclone in Bangladesh, days after the Indian envoy ruled out easing of a ban on export of cheap rice to allow supplies to Dhaka. "Being a neighbouring country we feel great attachment with Bangladesh for similarity of language,' West Bengal minister for transport, sports and youth Subhash Chakravarty said after handing over relief material to Bangladesh's food and disaster management ministry yesterday. The relief goods for the victims of the November cyclone included 1,010 tonnes of rice, 50 tonnes of wheat, 7,500 pieces of blankets, 10,000 pieces of sarees and 6,000 mosquito nets. The minister, who was accompanied by litterateurs Sunil Ganguly and Abul Bashar, actor Biswajit, Sumitra Mitra, Amar Pal and other eminent personalities, promised to construct 1,000 houses in cyclone-affected areas. The gesture came two days after Indian High Commissioner here defended New Delhi's decision to re-impose restrictions on the export of the foodgrain priced below $510 a tonne.

A cow for Rs 89,000, a pig for Rs 12,000 and a goat, Rs 19,000. These are not fictional prices dreamt up by some livestock dealer. These are the prices businessmen have quoted for supplying