Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina distributes awards among the winners of National Youth Day 2013 at capital’s Osmani Memorial Hall on Friday. Photo: Focus Bangla
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the youths of the country to find out self-employment exploiting the opportunities offered by the government instead of depending on others for job.
“Youths can take initiative for fisheries, poultry and dairy farming, horticulture, cultivation of cash crops, food processing industries and other self-employment occupations,” she said adding youths can make more money from these professions than they could have earn from a job.
Jubo Unnyan Adhidaptar (Department of Youths), Karmasangsthan Bank, Ansar-VDP Bank and other scheduled banks are giving soft loan to help the youths to find their own job in these sectors, she added.
The PM was addressing the inaugural function of the National Youth Day 2013 at Osmani Memorial Hall today.
This year 15 youths got the national youth award in different categories. They are : Mizanul Haque Sarkar of Sunamganj; Nurul Arefin of Ameerganj of Kishoreganj; Naznin Parveen of Gopibag, Dhaka; Sabira Sultana of Amalpara, Narayanganj; Masing Nu Marma of Chemi Dalupara, Bandarban; Tamanna Moslem Meera of Alipur, Faridpur; Mohiuddin Ahmed of Sonagazi, Feni; Selim Reza of Bagatipara, Natore; Abu Abdullah Al Azad of Devhata, Satkhira; Nazma Parveen Simu of Bogra road, Barisal; Kamran Hossain of Satpur, Moulvibazar; Asmaul Husna of Ramnagar, Dinajpur; Faisal Rahman of Sadar Upazila of Jhalkathi, Jakir Hossain Mohin of Bhola Sadar Upazila, and Irin Begum of Nabadiganta Mohila Sangstha in Jessore.
State minister for youth and sports Ahad Ali Sarkar presided over the function while chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of youth and sports Zahid Ahsan Russell and secretary of the ministry Nur Mohammad and director general of the department of youth Asit Kumar Mukutmoni and award recipients Mohiuddin and Sabira spoke, among others.
Urging the youths to engage themselves with productive activities, the PM said, youths are main force for building a hunger, poverty and illiteracy-free secular modern Bangladesh.
She hoped that youths would groom up with high moral values and always follow the spirit of honesty, patriotism and humanity and devote them for building a prosperous nation.
Hasina urged all to remain conscious so that none can exploit the youths in political or personal interest or any evil purpose.
Extending her thanks to the youths received National Youth Award 2013, the PM said, they are earning more than Tk one lakh a month, which is not possible even by going abroad.
“Their activities are exemplary to others and I hope that they would continue their work for development of their occupation, imbue other unemployed youths to find their self-employment and development of poor rural people,” she said.
Recalling the glorious role of youths in the language movement, country’s war of liberation and all democratic movements, the premier said, “Working spirit of the youths can make any impossible tasks possible, and they can bring radical change in the polity, society and economy.”
Youths represent one third of the country’s population, she said adding national development is not possible without their active engagement in productive and constructive activities.
The PM said her government every time when came to power has given priority to development of the youths. “In 1996, the Awami League government has expanded the activities of the department of youths at district and upazila levels, constructing infrastructure facilities and taking various credits and training programmes,” she said.
Hasina said her government renovated the youth development training centre in Savar during its previous tenure and introduced training programmes in 50 trades. At that time, the government established Karmasangsthan Bank and started giving collateral free loan up to Tk 50,000 to youths for their self-employment.
“In this tenure, the ceiling of the credit now has been raised to Taka one lakh,” she said adding the present government has implemented massive programmes for employment and development of youths in 64 districts and 476 upazilas.
The PM said, the youth department has imparted training to around 40.46 lakh male and female youths on various trades, out of them 19.94 lakh youths could arrange their own jobs, creating employment opportunities for many others.
The present government has so far distributed credit worth about Tk 28,000 crore among youths and around 63,000 youths have got job under national service programme, she said.
Hasina expressed her utter disappointment over derailment of a section of youths and their addiction to drugs. However, she said, youths are not solely responsible for this. “It’s the duty of the parents to keep their children on right path,” she said.
“Youths should be given ample idea about our heritage, national history, hundred years’ old traditional family ties and moral values,” she said adding a conscious youth can never be spoiled.
Source: The Daily Star
