Political parties should include a comprehensive national policy in their election manifestos for socio-economic development of the marginalised char people.
Former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr. Atiur Rahman came up with the statement while addressing a national policy dialogue at Biswa Sahitya Kendro in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Atiur also recommended to form an independent institutional authority like Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) to coordinate specific projects for socio-economic development of char communities.
Shamunnay, a non-governmental organisation, organised the programme on behalf of the National Char Alliance, said a press release.
Senior leaders from different political parties, representatives of development partners, international and national development organisations, civil society representatives, researchers, journalists, entrepreneurs and representatives from women and farmer organisations participated in the dialogue event.
Awami League Presidium Member Dr. Abdur Razzak said the current government has led the country to the highway of development and intends to ensure a fair share of this progress for the marginalized communities in the char areas
He committed that his party will seriously consider incorporating the demands of char people in their election manifesto.
Jatiyo Party Co-Chairman GM Kader expected that all political parties will come up with explicit commitments to improve service delivery mechanism and infrastructure in char areas.
Vice Chairman of Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod) Professor Dr. Anwar Hossain said that more than 60 million people of the country may become climate refugees in the coming few decades.
"Political leaders need to consider issues such as climate change adaptation in char areas as seriously as possible," he added.
Chairperson of National Char Alliance and former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Khondker Ibrahim Khaled, in his remarks as the chair of the session, demanded to form an independent char development authority, like PKSF, to efficiently coordinate and implement development projects in char areas.
