‘Govt firm to facilitate urban poor’

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Dhaka

Wednesday, 04 May 2011

Author / Source : Staff Reporter

DHAKA, MAY 3: Law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed on Tuesday expressed the government’s determination to provide full support to the urban poor in order to raise their living standards by empowering them economically. “The government and the non-government organisations (NGO) should work together to help attain better living standards to the urban population by empowering them economically,” the minister said, while inaugurating a three-day advocacy workshop on ‘Creating livelihoods for urban extreme poor.’
The event was jointly organised by Dustha Sasthya Kendra (DSK) and NGO called ‘Shiree’ at the LGED-RDEC conference room in the city.
Due to natural disasters and paucity of arable lands, the poor are migrating to towns and cities, ending up in the slums, leading a miserable life, Shafique Ahmed said while adding, efforts should be made to fulfil their (the urban poor) basic needs by providing them training of different skills to make them self-reliant.
“If we can make arrangements for their financial solvency and providing their children with education, they would be able to discharge their duties as better citizens,” Shafique Ahmed said.
Dr Dibalok Singha, executive director of DSK who also presided over the programme, said, there are eight million urban poor in the country, half of them dwelling in the capital. “Rural-urban migration cannot be curbed by stimulating the rural economy alone, which requires a dynamic infrastructure and macro- level pro-poor growth along with better planning in the urban areas,” he said.