As a nation, Bangladesh has undeniably come a long way. However, to ensure that the people of the country have access to a standard of living that is both uniform and sustainable, the administration has to widen the scope of their development plans to include the marginalized, especially those at the fringes of the country.
To be specific, there is a need to assess the living conditions and needs of people in marginalized communities in our rural areas and implement bespoke, local variations of national development plans so that everyone in the country can have access to the same standard of living.
As such, the fact that MRDI and Bangladesh Bank has teamed up for the facilitation of a joint initiative to distribute water tanks among 425 families of three villages in the Sundarbans is a promising development.
To say that the people of Sundarbans lack access to modern amenities would be underselling the situation. Our infrastructural apparatus is mainly concerned with connecting the different cities with Dhaka, and aside from major hubs like Chittagong and Khulna, other parts of the country don’t get the amount of attention that is necessary.
If this is the situation in urban areas, one can easily imagine how worse it is in rural areas.
Over 60% of the population lives in villages which easily fall under the category of marginalized people. As such, the recent step by the authorities is a promising one that should pave the way for bridging the gap between city dwellers and villagers. After all, we all collectively contribute to the benefit of the country.
We are all responsible for the success of Bangladesh. It is only fair that everyone gets their due.
