Planning Minister, MA Mannan has said, the government is working on big projects to eradicate poverty. Therefore, the government as well as the non-governmental organizations should come forward. The minister presented the keynote at a seminar titled 'Not putting anyone behind, but a concerted effort for development of Haor, (wetland)' on Wednesday at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital. The seminar was organized by BRAC Integrated Development Program.
The planning minister said, the government works on big projects. With many areas, working with millions of people, the usual rule is that something is left out. You (non governmental organisations) have a role to play. Mentioning the Haor people he said, however the government does not want to leave anyone or any area. There are specific government agencies that are working there. In the Haor region, the main cause of poverty is injustice and discrimination. The so-called influential fraudsters are living in the city and carrying out injustice. It's time to take drastic action against them.
He also said, Eliminating the apparent poverty of the Haor region is not a single program. In this case, public-private organizations have to work together. ” Referring to the various initiatives taken by the government to eradicate poverty, the minister said, I have doubts about the data of the government agencies. That's what we're working on. We make many plans. There are plans layer after layer. There is hardly a country with such plans, like in Bangladesh.
Speaking at the seminar chaired by BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh, BRAC Director (Integrated Development) Anna Minz, Head of Integrated Program Development Shena Sundar Saha, Professor Siddiqur Rahman, First Secretary of the Australian High Commission Angela Newman, BRAC Director and part of the BRACM. BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh presided over the function.
Speakers at the roundtable pointed out that the haor region is often subject to various natural disasters. So there is always instability and fear among the inhabitants of this region. At the same time, people in the Haor area suffer from various hardships and extreme poverty due to limited resources and services. For the overall development of this image, it is important to take up joint and useful initiatives to facilitate service through a single platform.
They also commented that the scope of social security programs and the need for on-demand services should be increased for the Haor people. To integrate them into the mainstream of development, integrated development initiatives must be taken to reduce disaster risk, create employment opportunities and create skilled workforce at the local level.
