The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a seminar said yesterday Bangladesh will have to formulate appropriate policy for the sustainable development of the country and alleviating the poverty of 10 crore people.

Of the 10 crore people living under the poverty line, more than 4 crore are the extremely poor, they told.

Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) organised the seminar on "the present economic situation of the country and commodities' price" at the Planning and Development Academy auditorium in the city's Nilkhet area.

Chief of the Association Prof Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman presided over the seminar, while former FBCCI President Yousuf Abdullah Harun, former Secretary Syed Yousuf Hossain and Professor of Biochemistry and Human Nutrition Department of Dhaka University Dr Harun Kader Yousuf presented three separate keynote papers.

General Secretary of the Association Prof Abul Barakat delivered the welcome speech.

Speakers said the number of the poor people in the country increasingly rose during the last one and a half years. Now about 80 per cent of the people are facing food crisis, they claimed.

Prof Quazi Kholiquzzaman said BEA suggested the government to keep 10 per cent allocation of the next budget for creating direct employment.

Though the government said that number of the extreme poor in the country is three crore and poor is six crore, the actual number is much higher, he claimed.

He further said after two phases of flood and cyclone Sidr attack, many non-poor people became poor, while the poor became extreme poor. Now people of the lower-middle class have turned into the poor.

Prof Abul Barakat said the average rate of the essential price hike was 50 per cent during the last one and a half years, though the government put it at only 12 per cent.

After the Floods, BEA had suggested the government to make definition of the essential commodities and form the Essential Commodities Act, but the government did not pay heed to its suggestion, he added. He said now the unemployed people in the country are about four crore, but according to the government statistics, the number is only 22 lakh. About one crore people lost their job during the last one and a half years due the wrong policy of the present caretaker government, he noted.

About 30 lakh people lost their job only due to eviction of the vendors and shops from the footpaths, he further said.

He informed that the trend of investment had fallen due to fear factors which had emerged from strict steps taken by the Caretaker Government after one-eleven. Fall of investment's trend caused the high rate of unemployment, he added.

He urged the government to adopt immediate damage reduction strategy to save the poor people of the country. The strategy should include large food allocation among the poor people, introduction of the rationing system, further stock of 20 lakh tons food and monitoring the markets, he suggested.

Speakers also suggested the government to ensure balanced distribution of asset and commodities for alleviating poverty and facing food crisis.

They also called for increasing for food production, promotion of small and medium industries, introducing appropriate agro and industrial technologies to face the present crises in the country.