Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe Singh said that the country is moving forward today because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's bold steps. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, there is equal development in the hills and plains. Mountains is no longer a backward township.
He said that the country's economy has become stronger with the active participation of women in the hilly areas. He said that the women of the hilly regions are the bearers and bearers of culture and traditional knowledge. Women are playing a key role in environmental protection and social and economic development in hilly areas. Women are protectors of mountain resources and local healers.
He said this in the speech of the chief guest at the discussion meeting organized on the occasion of International Mountain Day in the meeting room of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs at the Secretariat on Sunday.
Iqbal Abdullah Haroon, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change spoke as the main speaker under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Mosammat Hamida Begum.
Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board Chairman Nikhil Kumar Chakma, Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Ministry Additional Secretary Satyendra Kumar Sarkar, Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary (Administration) Aleya Akhter were present among others.
Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council Rangamati Chief Executive Officer Titon Khisa, Refugee Affairs Task Force Chief Executive Officer Krishna Chandra Chakma, Helen Keller International Executive Director Miz Han Han, Women Entrepreneur Bibli Chakma were present. The program was moderated by Sajal Kanti Banik, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs.
Minister Bir Bahadur said, women are protectors of mountain resources and local medical workers. The role of women in mountain jum cultivation is many. Hill women meet the water needs of other family members by collecting water from mountain springs. Mountain women are emerging as farmers, mountain women as traders, mountain women as artisans, entrepreneurs and community leaders. Hill women will become a driving force against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
The current Awami League government under the leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Jannetri Sheikh Hasina is determined for the overall development of the greater hilly region. Every disaster that has occurred in the hill region in the past has been dealt with by the government in a coordinated manner with great determination.
Every public and private institution has worked tirelessly for the safety of life and property in the hilly areas. I think it is a concerted effort. You must be aware that the historic peace agreement was concluded on December 2, 1997 as a result of the firmness and timely initiative of Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the privileged daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The historic peace agreement ended two long years of conflict. Since then, a lasting peace has been established in the hill region. As a result, new horizons of sustainable development have been opened up in the hilly regions. Opportunities have been created for public-private, national and international institutions to do developmental work in the mountainous region. As a result the overall development of the hill region has been accelerated.
In the president's speech, the Secretary of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Mosammat Hamida Begum said, hill pregnant women carry burdens on their backs and climb steep hills with children on their shoulders, while women are climbing hills with water on their heads, and in various pictures, they are cultivating jum. Women are present in every field. A mountain cannot think of its existence without women. Women exist everywhere.
