The UK government will provide a further five million pound (approximately Taka 70 crore) support for post-cyclone rebuilding work in Bangladesh, reports agency.

This is in addition to the 10 million pounds already provided for emergency relief efforts after the cyclone in November 2007, a DFID-UNDP press release said Thursday.

The additional five million pounds (about 10 million dollar) will support a US$ 42 million “Early Recovery Action Programme” being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Bangladesh over the next eight months.

The UNDP programme will help 20,000 families through ‘core house’ reconstruction, which will fulfill basic housing requirements.

Some 180,000 people will also be involved in small scale community infrastructure rehabilitation and cash grants to restart livelihoods and local economic activities in the worst affected villages.

The UK’s assistance to Bangladesh on early recovery after the cyclone is closely linked with the new British 30 million pounds support to Bangladesh on Climate Change Adaptation, which Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, announced during his visit to Bangladesh in December 2007.

In response to the huge humanitarian needs in Bangladesh after cyclone Sidr in mid-November 2007, the UK Government provided 10 million pounds as initial support for the relief operations in the worst hit South-West region of the country. Currently some 200,000 families still need assistance with transitional shelter.

Those families and the villages they live in also require urgent early recovery assistance to rebuild their own livelihoods and their community.