More needs to be done for char people: State minister 

While the standard of living for the people living in char areas has improved significantly, more needs to be done for them, said State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Swapan Bhattacharjee.

"I have visited different char areas of the country including Kurigram and talked to people. They told me that they need grain warehouses to store their produce," the state minister also shared yesterday at a seminar, jointly organised by global development organisation Swisscontact, the Rural Development Academy Bogura, and the National Char Alliance,

"Sustainable methods should be found out on how to market the agricultural produce that benefits the farmers," Swapan Bhattacharjee added at the seminar – The Development and Potential of the Chars: In the Context of National Budget – at the capital's CIRDAP Auditorium.  

He also highlighted the need for specific allocation for the overall development of the living standards of the people of char areas in the budget of the next fiscal year 2023-2024.

State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said, "The government has taken many projects to improve the quality of life of the char people."

He encouraged more projects in areas including health, warehousing and food development.

"Underdeveloped areas need special attention. Without special attention on particular regions, people living there lag behind in development," the state minister said, adding that there should not be any regional differences and income disparity.

Dr Md Abdul Majid Pramanik, project director of M4C (Making Markets for Chars) Project, said about 80 lakh people live in Char areas spanning 4,000 square kilometres altogether.

"Various crops are cultivated in char areas including jute, paddy, wheat, maize, mustard, sweet pumpkin, pulses, spices including onion, garlic, coriander as well as chillies, sesame seeds, cumin, peanuts, potatoes and various vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes and radishes," he informed.

Several farmers spoke on the occasion and they demanded construction of warehouses for storing grains.

A farmer from Jamalpur said that the farmers are being deprived of the fair price of the produce due to poor communication systems.

In the keynote article, Founding Chairman of National Char Alliance (NCA) and former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman today said, 70% of Char residents are economically dependent on the agricultural sector.

"All stakeholders need to work together to realise the immense potential of the grasslands," he stressed.