Khulna city declared beggar-free

District administration declared Khulna district and city beggar-free on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nazmul Ahsan made the announcement at a function held at his conference hall. Khulna Divisional Commissioner Md Abdus Samad addressed the programme as the chief guest.

“We will declare Khulna division as beggar-free primarily on May 20. Later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will declare beggar-free Khulna division through a video conference very soon,” said Abdus Samad while addressing the programme.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken various schemes to make Bangladesh beggar-free by 2018, Abdus Samad said, adding that to make a society free from beggars was a challenging job, but the government had undertaken different rehabilitation programmes aimed at building Bangladesh as middle-income country by 2021.

“We have already rehabilitated 20,282 beggars out of 20,503 in Khulna division. Of them, a total of 3,456 beggars out of 3,497 have been rehabilitated at nine upazilas of the district and 1,227 beggars out of 1,258 in the city,” he added.

With a slogan, ‘Say No to Begging’; the scheme was taken in August last year, aiming to make beggar-free society. Later, Khulna divisional administration completed a survey in this regards on September 30, 2016, he further added.

The chief guest also urged different social organisations, including Rotary and Lions Clubs and financial sound people to come forward to make beggar-free-society.

Government officials, freedom fighters, media personnel and leaders of civil society, among others, attended the programme.

Source: BSS