Ziaul Haque, a 35-year-old physically challenged youth, is beaming this time as Union Information Service Centre (UISC) set up in Huzripara of Paba upazila in Rajshahi around three years ago, has brought a major change to his life as he is earning a satisfactory monthly income by providing ICT-based services to the people in general.
“I have earned around 80,000 taka and 85,000 taka in May and June last respectively by providing around 37 categories of services to people through this UISC established in 2011,” he said, adding that Soniya Khatun was another entrepreneur of the centre.
He said the number of service-recipients was 21,105 and earning was around Tk 3.51 lakh in last 2013-14 fiscal.
In terms of earning, from very beginning he upholds the top position in the district and the second or third in the division comprising eight districts.
At the centre, alongside providing different services including agriculture, land, health, education and legal aid, Ziaul provides computer training to the students and unemployed youths, which greatly helped them to get better jobs.
Very recently his major incomes started coming mainly from computer training, composing, scanning, printing services, photography, photocopy, online registration, birth registration and internet browsing, he stated.
Like Ziaul Haque, many entrepreneurs of UISCs across the upazila as well as the district have entered into profitable ventures and made them fortunate by enhancing their regular income.
Entrepreneur of Haragram Union Raquibul Hassan Rony said he earned Tk 47,488 in June through his centre.
Roni, a post-graduation student of Rajshahi College, said many unemployed youths had got jobs after receiving training on computer from the UISCs.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Gen) Dr Dewan Shahriar Firoj said different services of the upazila administrations were available at UISCs, which were helping to save time and money of thez rural people.
A total of 142 entrepreneurs, including 71 females, are self- employed in the USICs in nine upazilas of the district and some of them have got government jobs as computer operator.