India yesterday lifted its ban on rice exports to the tune of 0.5 million tonnes to help Bangladesh deal with its food shortages and also proposed to pay for the full rebuilding of 10 villages badly affected by Sidr. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made the announcement during his daylong visit to Bangladesh yesterday, which follows discussions with Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury on the sidelines of the Commonwealth leaders summit in Uganda recently.

During a press conference at a city hotel before his departure, Mukherjee told reporters that the ban has been partially lifted to help Bangladesh meet the demand for rice, which the government estimated to be around a million tonnes.

India earlier banned rice exports to protect its domestic market from shortage, but decided to export 0.5 million tonnes to Bangladesh in view of Sidr ruining the south-west coastline’s Aman crop.

Last week, the government asked donors to purchase 0.5 million tonnes of food relief from overseas, so that the fragile domestic food market remains undisturbed.

Mukherjee said India’s public operators would procure the rice in India, which can then be purchased by Bangladeshi public or private buyers.

India had already waived the rice export ban for 50,000 tonnes immediately after the cyclone and had also provided 20,000 tonnes as direct relief.

Asked whether India would subsidise the rice, Mukherjee dismissed the possibility saying India’s rice export price is already competitive considering global prices of rice.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury told reporters the government is touched by the gesture and India’s proposal to “adopt” 10 coastal villages fits into the government’s medium- to long-term rehabilitation programme.

Mukherjee said India proposed to pay for the rehabilitation of people in 10 badly affected villages chosen by the Bangladeshi government. He added the government would have to execute the plan but India would pay whatever is required including repairing and building roads and cyclone shelters.

The external affairs ministers, a Bengali, arrived early yesterday morning in an Indian Air Force plane carrying more than 36 tonnes of relief goods, including ready-to-eat meals, milk powder, medicines, water filters and blankets.

He visited two of the worst cyclone-hit areas, Sharonkhola and Patharghata, after he met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and the foreign adviser in Dhaka. Communications Adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin accompanied Mukherjee.