The chief of the committee on the preparation for ‘White Paper on the State of Bangladesh Economy’, Debapriya Bhattacharya said on Saturday that everyone’s active participation was needed to bring changes in the country for reclaiming civil rights in the society.
He said this at a meeting with development organisations, human rights activists, business leaders, educators, students, and social workers in Chattogram as a part of dialogues at the divisional level.
The participants, however, said that the law and order situation should be improved and the price hikes of essential to be checked first to pave the way for greater changes.
‘Change will require the participation of every individual. We are not here to catch thieves. Our aim is to understand the mechanisms of theft and how to prevent it. Change will not happen without our active involvement,’ said Debapriya, also a prominent economist in the country.
He said that they must reclaim civil rights.
The committee was appointed by the interim government to prepare the report on the country’s economy plagued by corruption, misappropriation of bank funds, capital flights and the market syndicate under the Awami League regime which was ousted amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Members of the white paper drafting committee, including Professor AK Enamul Haque, Ferdaus Ara Begum, Imran Matin, Kazi Iqbal, Mohammad Abu Yusuf, Professor Mostafizur Rahman, Salim Raihan, and Sharmind Neelormi were present, among others.
Participants, including educationist Muhammad Sikandar Khan, BSRM managing director Aameir Alihussain, engineer Subhash Barua, former Chattogram Port director Md Zafar Alam, Chattogram Press Club president Salahuddin Md Reza, political leader Hasan Maruf Rumi, and student movement coordinator Zubair Alam, shared their opinions.
During the hearing, educationist Muhammad Sikandar Khan said, ‘The law-and-order situation in the country has deteriorated significantly. This cannot continue for long. It must be addressed immediately. Commodity prices are soaring, and the people are suffering. Strict measures are needed to control these prices. Significant change cannot occur without addressing smaller issues first.’
Engineer Subhash Barua warned, ‘Without proper planning, situation of Chattogram could deteriorate even more than that of Dhaka due to traffic congestion. Projects should prioritize the needs of the people, and unnecessary initiatives should be eliminated. Stakeholders must be consulted before any project is initiated.’
Aameir Alihussain, Managing Director of BSRM, said, ‘Basic services are currently lacking. Bureaucratic complications hinder processes from NID applications to trade licenses. The lengthy procedures from the port to the ministry cost thousands of crores of Taka annually due to inefficiencies, which must be addressed.’
Rights activist Pahela Chakma said, ‘Indigenous people face economic discrimination due to their ethnic identity. We need to ensure our proper representation in the constitution. The social inequality should be addressed too.’