'Curb corruption to eradicate poverty'

They also asked for eradication of corruption at different levels of administration.

The discussion titled 'Work unitedly to eradicate poverty' was held at the conference room of Bangladesh Nari Pragati Sangha's (BNPS) office at Dhanmondi in the city and coordinated by South Asian Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE).

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rashidi Mahbub, president of Doctor's Health Association, said the government took various steps including poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) to eliminate poverty but bad governance, gender discrimination and weak law and order situation remain as barriers in the way of removing poverty.

Presiding over the discussion, Dr SA Sadek, economist and former principal secretary, asked for coordination among NGOs and government, as it is not possible for the government alone to implement all the programmes.

Criticising the micro finance system, Shamsuddoha, team member of Participatory Research Development Initiative, said hardcore people especially women tend to receive loan from various sources that lead them to be overburdened with loans and interests.

Numan Ahmed Khan, executive director of Institute of Environmental Development stressed for development of Information Technology (IT) and turning population into skilled population.

He also asked for government's awareness about the socio-political structure of the country while making policy to curb poverty.

Criticising the attitude of the government, Rokeya Kabir, executive director of BNPS, said "The government should play managerial and executive roles rather than ruling roles."

Among others, Abu Naser Khan, coordinator of Save the Environment Movement, and Shahnaz Shumi, coordinator of BNPS, also spoke on the occasion.