‘Adequate allocation in ADP required for char areas’

Adequate allocation of funds under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) is needed to ensure development of the char (riverbed) areas, said State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan on Thursday.

“To ensure a fair share of the benefits of economic advancement for the char people, all stakeholders need to work together,” he added.

He made the comments while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop titled “Corona Second Wave: Preparedness in Char Areas”, organised jointly by the National Char Alliance (NCA) and the Shamunnay.

The online workshop was organised under the “Aloktio Char” project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), reads a press release.

Managing Director of the Express Leather Products Ltd Kazi Jamil Islam was present at the event as a special guest, while former governor of the Bangladesh Bank and also Shamunnay Chairperson Dr Atiur Rahman presented the keynote paper.

In the keynote paper, Dr Atiur highlighted how the char areas are lagging in terms of living standards.

He pointed out that these areas were already lagging before the pandemic, and the economic slowdown has made them further vulnerable.

Hence, he recommended that the government come up with specific development projects for char areas in the ADP.

Representatives from development organisations working in char areas inferred that the 8-point proposals, including enhanced healthcare, subsidy for agriculture, special support for women-headed households etc., from the National Char Alliance should be implemented to ensure protection of char areas against the second wave of coronavirus.

Speaking at the workshop, Kazi Jami lslam confirmed that his organisation will invest in women empowerment in char areas of Jamalpur district to encourage other private sector actors to come forward for char development.

Workshop participants put forward different proposals about development projects in char areas including special financial stimulus, setting up training centres for human resource development, creating enabling environment for private sector investment etc.

Representatives of development organisations working in char areas and media professionals participated in the workshop.