Show Standard-Examin- er Thursday September 1 1983 1 9A World Bangladesh death toll nears DHAKA Bangladesh (AP) — The death toll from flooding climbed to nearly 700 and thousands of people fled their homes Wednesday as the Buriganga River flooded g neighborhoods and left of Dhaka under water President Hussain Muham-me- d Ershad issued an interna- Mandela moved 700 to private clinic meets with official low-lyin- one-four- tional appeal th for food helicopters and boats after touring flooded areas in the countryside where people were throwing their dead into swirling waters because there was no dry land for burial Local newspapers in Thursday and Wednesday editions red ported 140 more flood-relate- deaths across the country Wednesday raising the toll in recent floods to 676 Ershad said Wednesday the official death toll was 250 but the government’s count is generally considered low The independent newspaper 'Sangbad said most of the victims it reported died when boats sank or houses collapsed But it said some were killed when they were bitten by snakes in the water “We need food grains helicopters and river craft from our friends for tackling the flood” Ershad told reporters “Everywhere I have gone people have asked for drinking water” In Dhaka the capital residents stocked food anticipating that floods would force markets to close Several thousand residents g from a area on the low-lyin- southeastern outskirts of the city were evacuated Wednesday as waters from flooded Buriganga breached a protection dam and a road At Victoria Park in the oldest part of Dhaka about 3000 peo- pie camped out with the few possessions they rescued from their flooded homes “We have now become one family We are not only sharing our common sorrows We are also sharing whatever little we 10-mi- le JOHANNESBURG South Africa (AP) — Jailed black leader Nelson Mandela recuperating from tuberculosis met today with the justice minister after being transferred from a state hospital to a large private clinic Kobie Coetzee said Mandela’s health “appears to have improved considerably” and described conditions at the clinic as excellent The minister did not elaborate on his meeting with the prisoner whose release has been the focus of repeated international campaigns Mandela’s lawy er Ismail Ayob said he had expected the transfer and did not view it as an indication the government has decided whether it would free the African National Congress leader after his recovery Ayob said neither he nor Mandela’s wife Winnie was told in advance of the move from Cape Town’s Tygerberg Hospital to the Constantiaberg Clinic Mandela was moved late Wednesday Mandela jailed since 1962 was transferred on Aug 12 from Pollsmoor Prison to Tygerberg where doctors say he made a good recovery following the drainage of fluid from his lungs The clinic which opened in d March is a private hospital with a view of the mountains overlooking Cape Town It is a bit more expensive than most South African hospitals with private rooms costing about $68 a day The government will pay for his stay as it would any prisoner ‘ Family moves through flooded area of Dhaka to relief center on higher ground The Relief Ministry estimathave” said Mohammadullah a parks streets and with relatives d of the Floodwaters ranged from ed that nearly vegetable seller waist-dee- p Tears rolled down his face as nation’s population of 105 milat spots in Mirpur on the outskirts of Dhaka to 2 lion was affected by the floods he told how his daughter Rahima Khatoon Some areas had only a few inches outside an office building inches of water while in remote whose upper floors house the drowned in her sleep Tuesday when she fell off her bed into northern regions people scramUS Embassy in the Motijheel bled up trees with their children commercial district the rising water at Keraniganj Thousands of laborers and on the outskirts of Dhaka and meager foodstuffs and Hundreds of people made waited for the water to go volunteers worked around the clock td plug minor breaches in their way to a high road near down the embankment designed to the Buriganga River Municipal officials in Dhaka a city of 4 million estimated protect Dhaka from the BuriAbdul Hye a 35 year-ol- d of the city was af- ganga during floodtime government clerk put his two one-thir- one-quart- small children on his shoulders as he waded toward a shelter for refugees His wife go” fected by floods Speaking on condition of anonymity they of the said up to sprawling capital could be covered with water before the end of the week Other officials also speaking three-fourt- Naila Begum proa pelled pushcart loaded with the family’s valuables and their white cat Beauty “We cannot let her die” Naila said as she petted the cat “She will go with us wherever we er privately hs estimated that 100000 displaced people were seeking shelter in the capital’s makeshift relief camps open So far few deaths have been reported in Dhaka Most of the fatalities have occurred at least 40 miles from the capital In 1987 floods killed more than than 1200 people in gladesh Ban- where the per capita in- come is $150 a year and 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty level 228-be- A prison spokesman Danie While there Mandela is expected to have access to a greater number of visitors than he had in prison and may even be allowed to give interviews Government officials have suggested Mandela would be moved to a clinic and possibly allowed more visitors before a final decision was made whether to release him outright Mandela’s full recuperation could take months After that the government could send him back to prison or grant him freedom President PW Botha in a speech two weeks ago said he was seriously considering releasing Mandela the country’s black leader Mandela is serving a life sentence for sabotage and plotting to overthrow the white-le- d government If Botha releases Mandela the best-kno- president risks an enormous white backlash and the possibility of reactivating militant black opposition that has been suppressed state of under a emergency However there could be widespread unrest if the black majority’s most popular leader dies in custody Botha has offered to release Mandela if he will renounce violence Mandela said he will do so only if the African National Congress is no longer banned apartheid is dismantled and blacks are given full political rights The ANC is the main guerrilla group fighting to overthrow South Africa’s government and end apartheid under which the black majority has no voice in national affairs Immelman said Mandela’s condition “has improved to such an Nationwide municipal elecextent that his further treatment tions are set for Oct 26 further in the Tygerberg Hospital was no complicating Botha’s dilemma The government is engaged in a longer necessary” He gave no indication how massive campaign to encourage long Mandela would be in the blacks to vote in the township clinic or what the 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