Foundation needed for Char people: Planning minister

Planning MA Mannan on Monday said that in order to realise the development plans for Char areas in the country, a foundation or a similarly structured organisation is needed.

“The government is working to bring the lagging Char areas into the mainstream of development,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at the national workshop titled “Char Areas in National Development Planning,” organised jointly by Shamunnay and National Char Alliance.

National Char Alliance President and former chairman of Krishi Bank Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled chaired the online session, while Shamunnay Chairperson and former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman presented the keynote paper.

Representatives from SDC, WaterAid, Oxfam, CARE, Swiss Contact, M4C, Friendship and other member organisations of National Char Alliance also participated in the workshop, reads a press release.

In his keynote remarks, Dr Atiur Rahman put forward the importance of formulating a Char development policy and establishing a Char foundation for properly prioritising the Char agenda in the post-pandemic economic recovery process.

He also suggested coming up with special projects for Char development in the Annual Development Programme of the national budget as an interim solution before a Char foundation is established.

In the closing remarks, Ibrahim Khaled urged for prioritising development of communication and transportation in Char areas to create an enabling environment where all stakeholders can participate in development.

He recommended doing a nationwide technical survey to assess demand for communication and transportation facilities in Char areas and then gradually implementing infrastructure projects accordingly.