Dhaka, June 20 – The Minister for food Quamrul Islam on Wednesday opened a lottery of the Bangladesh Protibandhi Kallyan Somity (BPKS) to raise fund for this national voluntary organization dedicated to the welfare of people with all forms of disability in Bangladesh.The sale of lottery tickets priced at Taka 10 each will continue till August when the curtains will be drawn and prizes for winners announced. One form of entertainment, the lottery has been used for raising funds to support humanitarian activities in Bangladesh for a long time.
Abdus Sattar Dulal, the Executive Director and CEO of BPKS, told the lottery inauguration programme at the National Press Club that it would also create employment for about 5000 people for two months as about Taka 25 million is expected to roll from the beginning till the draw of the lottery will be held. BPKS is expected to get a share of one-fifth of the amount if it ends successfully.
Presided over by Abdus Sattar Dulal, the opening function was also addressed by Mostafa Kamal Majumder, Consultant Editor, Daily Asian Age and Alam Kabir of JK International which has entrusted with the responsibility to conduct the lottery.
Food Minister Quamrul Islam said that the lottery was just one of the many activities approved and undertaken by the government for the improvement of the lot of the disabled people of Bangladesh. No previous government did allow a lottery for the disabled, he said.
Making mention of the social safety net programme of the government through which the disabled sections of the society are protected against disasters and economic deprivation, the minister said that the present government has a special attention to the disabled population of the country. It’s a unique example that Saima Wazed Joy, the daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has gone all out in running a programme of welfare for autistic people of Bangladesh, he said. There is no such example in the world, he added.
The government has earmarked job quota for the disabled
and amended the building code to ensure their accessibility to all buildings and structures that are constructed in the country. He said if this government has continuity for the next term, all requirements of disabled people will be fulfilled.
Mostafa Kamal Majumder said that social safety net programme of the government cushioned the economically disadvantaged people of Bangladesh against poverty, hunger, disasters and diseases. As the society develops society security programmes are also developed to ensure that none is left behind in the struggle for prosperity. Voluntary organizations like BPKS take huge responsibilities to mainstream the disabled people by enabling them to engage in productive activities. He mentioned that the society has programmes for disabled people in 42 out of 64 districts of the country. – Staff Reporter
