Speakers at a dialogue on ‘Rights of indigenous people and Dalits in the context of SDGs’ on Tuesday urged taking proper steps for development of the country’s ethnic minority peoples and backward Dalit community.

Eco Social Development Organisation (ESDO) organised the event with the assistance of HEKS EPER, Swaziland, and Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, at ESDO Medha Bikash Kendro in Govindanagor in Thakurgaon municipality on Tuesday.

Fazle Hossain Badsha MP, convenor of parliamentary caucus on indigenous and minority affairs, attended the programme as chief guest while eminent economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya was the main speaker.

Among others, Nur Kutubul Alam, additional deputy commissioner, and Abul Hasnat, acting country director of HEKS EPER, addressed the programme presided over by Dr Muhammad Shahid Uz Zaman, executive director of ESDO.

The state’s initiative is needed to curb disparity and increase facilities for indigenous people living in plain land areas and for the purpose a proper census is needed to determine the actual number of indigenous people and Dalits, speakers said at the programme.

It is assumed that there are about 30 lakh indigenous people are in Bangladesh but the census conducted in 2011 mentioned only eight lakh people of the community.

According to national statistics, the poverty rate is 23.20 per cent but ninety percent Dalits and eighty percent ethnic minority people are under poverty level, which means different communities are not equally benefited from the country’s development, speaker said. 

They demanded giving more importance to indigenous people in eighth five-year plan and urged local administrative bodies’ support for protecting lands of the ethnic community people.

Representatives from various sectors of the society attended the three-hour-long programme.