Friday, October 11, 2024

Char dwellers denied health, edn services

Education for the children of the people of chars (landmasses that has emerged from the riverbed) of the Godagari upazila of northern Rajshahi district ends at the primary level as they cannot go to high schools located in other places due to risky and troublesome communication.
Besides, health services remain elusive for the people of the remote chars, as a result of which they have to rely on village quacks.
The marginal people complained that they remain deprived of immunization and family planning programmes, maternal health services and sanitation facilities of the government.
Char dwellers and non-government organisations blamed the government for lack of proper attention, and for the present situation which is worsening day by day.
Dwellers in the chars of Padma River in Manik, Bhubanpara, Boyarmari, Nowsera and Kanapara of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi district told New Age that poverty is forcing parents there to make their children work instead of going to school.
The children are now grazing cattle, doing agricultural work, pulling vans, working in tea stalls, etc.
The char dwellers are also victims of the severe problem of child marriage and dowry, said the char people.
Moinul Islam, a teacher of the Diyar Manik Char Boyalmari Registered Primary School, told New Age that there is a high rate of drop-out from the school. Currently it has 111 students in Class One and only 41 in Class Five.
‘Almost all the students stop coming to school after completing the primary level,’ he said. ‘There is no high school in our locality. The nearest one is about three kilometres away and others are situated on the other side of the river. Communication is risky and troublesome and costly.’
He also said that child marriage stops educational activities for children, especially girls, of the region.
Moinul said that so far, in 2012, three students of the school got married before completing primary education — Rupa of Class Four and Shema and Zarina of Class Five.
Tamijul Islam of Boyarmari char told New Age that normally children get married between ages of 12 to 16.
He said that dowry was the order of the day for char people. The size of the dowry generally hovers between Tk 40,000 to 50,000.
According to the study, Baseline Survey of Nodi O Jibon-2 Project, conducted by Concern Worldwide Bangladesh and Unnayan Shamannay, which examined the lifestyles of char dwellers in 73 chars of 24 unions in 10 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Lalmonirhat and Pabna, 66% were illiterate, 29% had studied up to the primary level, 5% to the secondary level and only 1% to the higher secondary level.
According to knowledgeable sources, there are about 5 lakh people in these 73 chars and a total of 60 lakh across the country.
Jahangir Alam, a shopkeeper beside the ghat, said they are deprived of health services and have to rely on village quacks. He said that if someone gets sick there is no end of misery for him or her.
The survey said that about 70 per cent of the char dwellers took treatment from visiting village doctors and/or drug stores, 16 per cent visit upazila hospitals and the rest go to district hospitals and private clinics.
Nazrul Islam of Boyarmari char said he had never heard anything about the government’s family planning programmes.
He also said that women of the locality are deprived of maternity services and have to rely on the age-old system.
‘In most cases during the immunization programme the vaccination workers do not come to our chars,’ he said.
Another baseline survey conducted in 2007 by Concern and Unnayan Shamannay found that 70 per cent of the chars’ women are deprived of maternity services.
SM Tuhinur Alam, Godagari Upazila’s nirbahi officer, told New Age that there could be a lack of monitoring of the service in the area due to the remoteness of the chars, but government officials try their best to serve those people.
Tunhinur said that the government is trying to construct roads in the above-mentioned chars and hoped the situation would change then. He added that he had taken charge about one month ago and would take necessary steps to provide health and education services for char dwellers.

Courtesy of New Age

Related News

GNB brings the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for the first time in Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Good Neighbours Bangladesh (GNB) is proud to announce that it has been awarded the prestigious UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development (8th Edition) in recognition of its outstanding contributions to teacher development through the GNB education programme. This esteemed global award is presented by UNESCO every two years to highlight innovative practices ... Read more

Admission Fest begins at Presidency University

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Admission Fest at Presidency University began on October 3, 2024 (Thursday) and will continue till October 18, 2024. The honourable Acting Vice-Chancellor of Presidency University, Professor A.H.M Faruque, inaugurated the fest. The event was attended by the university’s Principal Adviser, Professor Dr. Md. Anwarul Kabir, Deans of various faculties, the ... Read more

RU academic activities to resume on Sept 8

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The academic activities of Rajshahi University (RU) will resume on September 8 following a closure of more than two months. Classes of first-year students under the academic session 2023-24 are likely to start soon after the admission process is completed. The decisions were taken in a meeting held with all deans ... Read more

US Embassy, Brac University hosts first-ever Academy for Women Entrepreneurs alumni fair in Dhaka

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bren Flanigan, acting counselor for Public Affairs of the US Embassy, today (3 July) inaugurated the first-ever fair exclusively for Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) alumni in Bangladesh at the Brac University campus. AWE, a global initiative led by the US Department of State, equips aspiring women entrepreneurs with essential knowledge, ... Read more

National Earth Olympiad (NEO) 2024 empowers 300 youth across 8 divisions

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The final leg of Green Day Training of National Earth Olympiad (NEO) 2024 was held at Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) on Friday, 17 May after completing the divisional rounds at seven divisional cities of Bangladesh and the Cumilla Region. This year a total of 2000+ students participated in the preliminary rounds ... Read more

Canada Bangladesh Alumni Association celebrates ‘Acoustic Social 2’

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Canada Bangladesh Alumni Association (CBAA) hosted a remarkable evening of connection and celebration at Acoustic Social 2 on 15 May. With over 60 esteemed alumni from prominent Canadian universities such as the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Western Ontario, and more in attendance, the event exemplified the enduring ... Read more

Stockholm Junior Water Prize Bangladesh award ceremony held

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Stockholm Junior Water Prize Bangladesh (SJWPBD) Award Ceremony 2024, held on 10 May from 3:30pm to 5:00pm, at Ascott Palace, Baridhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh, dazzled audiences as it showcased the groundbreaking solutions crafted by the brilliant young minds of Bangladesh to tackle pressing water-related challenges. Set against the backdrop of a ... Read more

Uttara University’s ‘Infopedia’ poster competition: A spectacle of knowledge and creativity

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Department of English at Uttara University recently organized a vibrant and intellectually stimulating poster competition titled “Infopedia.” The event showcased the creative prowess and academic excellence of students from the 61st and 62nd batches of the department. The competition, held on April 30th and May 4th, 2024, featured themes centered ... Read more

DU to resume in-person classes from Wednesday

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The University of Dhaka will return to in-person classes starting next Wednesday (8 May). As the intensity of the heatwave came down to a bearable level following a drop in the city temperature due to downpours witnessed in the last couple of days, in-person classes will start again in the university ... Read more

BRAC University students win awards at OSUN film festival

News Desk : dhakamirror.com BRAC University students have recently won multiple prestigious awards at the Open Society University Network (OSUN) Film Festival. The festival was held online and featured 25 student-made videos, the final projects of the “Visual Storytelling for Student Engagement” course in the Fall 2023 semester. This collaborative course was offered at seven ... Read more

Professor Dr. Mohammad Ashik Mosaddik joined as the new Pro-Vice Chancellor of East West University

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Professor Dr Ashik Mosaddik joined as the new Pro-Vice Chancellor (Pro-VC) of East West University (EWU) on Monday, 4 December 2023. The Honourable Chancellor of the University, His Excellency the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed him as Pro Vice-Chancellor for four years, reads a press release. ... Read more

Department of Population Sciences at Dhaka University hosts farewell ceremony and freshmen reception

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The freshers’ reception for the students of the 2022-23 session and the farewell ceremony for the students of the 2017-18 session were recently held in the Department of Population Sciences of University of Dhaka. Professor Dr Zia Rahman, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka, was present as ... Read more

Youth festival held in Dhaka

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The premises of the Krishibid Institution echoed the energetic strides of more than 300 youths from across the country who gathered to participate in the Youth Festival on Sunday. Organized by the Right Here Right Now (RHRN2) project of Brac’s Social Empowerment and Legal Protection (SELP) Program, the purpose of the ... Read more

Cadet College admission test fee through bKash

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Like previous years, admission seekers of the country’s 12 cadet colleges can pay application fee for admission test through bKash. Applicants or their guardians can apply for admission test at the cadet colleges’ admission website till 5:00pm of 13 December and complete the application with fee payment through bKash. The applicants ... Read more

NSU Center for Business Research hosts seminar on applied business research

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Center for Business Research at North South University (NSU) hosted a seminar titled “Applied Business Research in the Digital Age” on Monday (16 October). ANM Ziaul Islam Mithu, a distinguished industry leader and managing director of KANTAR was present as the keynote speaker, reads a press release. Professor Helal Ahammad, ... Read more

Amazon Web Services shortlists 34 Bangladeshi startups for credit facilities of $10,000 each

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Following the jury’s evaluation at Amazon Web Services Startup Day Bangladesh 2023, 34 Bangladeshi startups were selected to receive credit facilities from the company worth $10,000 each. Amazon Web Services Startup Day Bangladesh 2023 was held for the first time in Bangladesh on October 5, says a press release. The day-long ... Read more

UIU holds seminar on youth development

News Desk : dhakamirror.com United International University organised a seminar on ‘Youth Development’ at the UIU campus on Madani Avenue in Dhaka on Tuesday. Nazma Rahman, mayor of Camden in London, was present as chief guest on the occasion. Mike Sherriff, charity trustee, author and former charity chief executive, Nayeem Hossain, president of Nagorik Dhaka ... Read more

Scholarship awarded for IELTS exam candidates at North South University

News Desk : dhakamirror.com North South University (NSU) and British Council jointly organized a scholarship award ceremony for IELTS exam candidates. The event was graced by Tom Miscioscia, Country Head of the British Council with his delegation of administrative and business heads, reads a press release. Professor Atiqul Islam, Vice-Chancellor of NSU led the events. ... Read more

NSU secures top spot in NASA Space Apps Challenge

News Desk : dhakamirror.com North South University’s department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has soared to new heights by making a splash in the prestigious NASA SPACE APPS CHALLENGES 2023. This marks a watershed moment for NSU as the challenge is a globally recognised hackathon spearheaded by NASA itself, said a press release. The team, ... Read more

ULAB holds CSE Freshers’ Orientation Fall 2023

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) organised the Fall 2023 CSE Freshers’ Orientation on 5 October 2023, at the ULAB Permanent Campus, reads a press release. Russell T. Ahmed, the President of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), ... Read more