ACC Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury inaugurates a website at the National Press Club in the city yesterday.Photo: STAR

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury yesterday said the ongoing anti-corruption drive will be widened, tougher and long-term.
“The ongoing drive against corruption will be firm, widened and long- term and to win the battle people from all walks of life will have to take part in it,” said Mashhud while speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a website.
Concern for Environmental Development And Research (CEDAR), a non-government organisation, launched the website www.nocorruptionbd.org at the National Press Club in the capital.
Inaugurating the website, the ACC boss said, “We would be able to make our stand against corruption more firm by using more modern technology.”
“Using the technology we would be able to reach many people and take their opinions regarding corruption,” he said, adding the website, as a raw material, will help project the corruption picture of the country.
Welcoming the effort, Mashhud said the ACC will visit the website regularly.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said incorporation of general people is a must to make the movement against corruption a success and durable.
It is not possible for a single institution to curb corruption, and corruption will be rooted out from the society if the organisations ensure transparency and accountability, he said.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman called for incorporating the young generation into the movement as their ideas are important to stamp out corruption.
He hoped that many organisations will come forward with their efforts like CEDAR.
Praising the effort, Mosharraf Hossain Khan, deputy managing director of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), said awareness about corruption will be raised among the mass people if the anti-corruption activities and programmes are put in the website.
He said everyone will have to declare war against corruption as only few institutions cannot eradicate corruption from the country.
He suggested CEDAR to put the corruption-related information carefully in the website so that innocent people are not harassed.
Mosharraf said allegations were raised against the activities of many non-government organisations recently, but these have been stopped now.
To establish a corruption-free society the alleged corruptions of NGOs should be followed up, he added.
Shafiqul Alam, executive director of CEDAR, said the aim of launching the website is to create social awareness against corruption.
He said the website has a provision for anyone to put their opinion on the ways to stop corruption and people would also be able to affirm their personal commitment against corruption.
Aroma Dutta, executive director of PRIP Trust, and Kazi Sher Mohammad, president of CEDAR, also spoke on the occasion.