Mir Helal urges people to leave high-risk hills amid landslide threat
- Update Time :Thursday, July 9, 2026
State minister calls for evacuation from vulnerable hill settlements as heavy rain increases landslide risks across Chattogram and the hill districts.
Ilias Ripon, CTG Mail, 9 July 2026:
State Minister for Land and Hill Tracts Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin has urged people living on illegal and landslide-prone hill settlements to move to safer places as persistent heavy rain increases the risk of landslides across Chattogram and the hill districts.
Speaking at a late-night press briefing at Chattogram Circuit House on Wednesday (8 July), the state minister said large cracks had appeared on several hills, while landslides had already damaged homes in some areas. He warned that cutting hills and building settlements on unstable slopes continued to endanger lives and called for greater public awareness to prevent further casualties.
Mir Helal said the government, under the prime minister’s directive, had allocated 1,300 metric tonnes of rice for the three hill districts, including 500 metric tonnes for Rangamati. In addition, Tk 2 million in emergency assistance has been allocated to each district, with further support to be provided if required.
He said authorities had prepared more than 3,200 emergency shelters across the division to respond to any worsening situation. In Rangamati alone, 260 high-risk locations have been identified and the same number of shelters kept ready. Currently, around 1,300 people are staying in 22 shelters in the district, a figure expected to rise if heavy rainfall continues.
The state minister also highlighted waterlogging as a major concern, saying several sluice gates were not functioning properly, preventing the quick drainage of floodwater. He said repairing the damaged infrastructure would be essential to achieving a long-term solution to the city’s waterlogging problem and that the issue would be discussed with the relevant authorities.
Mir Helal said protecting people’s lives during the disaster remained the government’s highest priority. He added that the administration, the army, local elected representatives, government agencies and political activists were working together to support affected communities. He also thanked officials, public representatives and volunteers involved in the emergency response.
The briefing was attended by Divisional Commissioner Dr Md Zia Uddin, Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia, Chattogram Superintendent of Police Md Masud Alam, CDA Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain, Chattogram WASA Managing Director Engineer Selim Md Jahangir Alam, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Sharif Uddin, along with other senior government officials.
