Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul Islam said that the impact of dengue in the country is at a bearable level due to the combined efforts of the mayor of the city corporation and related institutions and individuals.
He said this in the speech as the chief guest at the function titled 'Launching of 2020 Global State of the World Volunteerism Report: Strengthening volunteerism towards inclusive, balanced societies and support to SDGs in Bangladesh' in the hall of the Directorate of Public Health and Engineering in Kakrail of the capital on Sunday.
The minister said that dengue was a cause of panic in the country even a few years ago. But due to the strong position of the Ministry, the supervision of the Mayor and Councilors of the City Corporation, and the efforts of the concerned institutions and individuals along with creating awareness among the common people, dengue is now under control.
He also said that in the last two or three years some people have been infected and unfortunately some have died. But overall, we were and still are in a good position compared to neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Md Tajul Islam said that there has been no flooding in Dhaka this year. The indescribable suffering of the city dwellers due to flooding is no more. Because the canals were handed over from Dhaka Wasa to the City Corporation, the two mayors did a lot of work with the people. He rescued the illegally encroached canals and renovated them, excavated/re-excavated them and cleared the garbage, which is the reason for today's success. The chief guest said that the challenge in the whole country including Dhaka city is the proper management of garbage. We have already started working on it. The government has taken the initiative to generate electricity from waste and very soon generation of electricity from waste will start all over the country including Dhaka, Gazipur, Chittagong and Narayanganj.
The Minister of Local Government said that while participating in a program of United Nations Volunteers, they informed that there is no volunteer policy in Bangladesh. When requested by the organization to formulate a national volunteer policy, he later discussed with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and started the work of formulating a national volunteer policy with her consent. The draft of this policy has been finalized by forming a working committee for the formulation of the policy through many meetings and opinions of grassroots and experts and the cabinet has given a policy decision for the formulation of this policy.
Institutionalizing this great work of volunteering in Bangladesh and recognizing the people who volunteer will encourage others as well as accelerate the practice of volunteering. Minister said that it will play a role as a strategy in achieving national development goals. Mentioning the importance of public participation in volunteering and the practice of volunteering to deal with various calamities of the country, he said that sustainable development will be possible in rural Bengal and the city from any climate, epidemic, social or any other disaster. This step will increase the capacity of urban and rural people to deal with climate change, pandemic, social and any other crisis. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has freed the country from centuries of poverty and made it self-sufficient in food. Mentioning that the country's mega projects including Padma Bridge, Metrorail and Karnaphuli Tunnel will change the economic pattern of the country, he said, we all have to work unitedly so that no one can disrupt the progress of development.
UNV Bangladesh Country Coordinator Akhtar Uddin attended the event, State Minister of Disaster Management and Relief Ministry Dr. Md. Enamur Rahman, Senior Secretary of Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Md. Aminul Islam Khan and UN Residential Coordinator Ms. Gwyn Lewis were present as special guests.
In addition, Farah Kabir, Country Director of Action Aid and Regional Manager of Asia and the Pacific of UNV, Mr. Dmitri Fraschin spoke.
Local Government, Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and UNDP Bangladesh organized the event.
