BSS :
Speakers at a citizen’s dialogue yesterday stressed on making disabled-friendly union parishad (UP) to promote rights of physically challenged people for their inclusive development at the grassroots levels.
They opined this at the dialogue titled ‘Promoting rights of grassroots persons with disabilities through community-led initiative’ held at Damodarpur union parishad in Badarganj upazila of the district.
Rangdhanu District Protibondhi Adhikar Sangstha (RDPAS), Rangpur organised the event with assistance of Access Bangladesh Foundation and Commonwealth Foundation. Members and Secretary of Damodarpur union parishad, representatives of NGOs, teachers, civil society members, disabled people and local elite participated in the event.
Damodarpur union parishad Chairman Md Azizul Haque Sarker attended the mevent as the chief guest with President of RDPAS Md Rabiul Islam in the chair. Community Organiser of RDPAS Md Atiar Rahman moderated the dialogue.
General Secretary of RDPAS Md Hasanur Rahman (Helal) delivered the keynote essay narrating statistics and social status of disabled population and services being provided to them in Damodarpur union.
The speakers proposed involving disabled people in making development plans and selecting beneficiaries for social safety-net programmes to bring more disabled persons under the programmes for their comprehensive development.
The chief guest lauded the government for implementing various programmes for development of disabled people to turn them into human resources to attain the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
He expressed commitment to create a disabled-friendly environment in the union parishad involving representatives of disabled people and implement more development activities for their development.
“We will bring all disabled people of the union under social safety-net programmes and provide them training for their engagement with income generating activities to make them self-reliant on the way to achieve the SDGs,” he said.