Haor people need technical skill to avoid poverty cycle

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Sunamganj Correspondent
Published : 06:00, Aug 19, 2019 | Updated : 06:00, Aug 19, 2019

Apart from agriculture and fishing, options for other work are scarce in haor areas; haor areas have water 6-7 months a year and during this time, local people earn their livelihoods by catching fish. After water level falls, agriculture work runs from December till February.
In April-May, paddy is cut and collected. When water comes to the haor areas, many leave to different places to look for work. A large section spends idle time at home and therefore, cannot leave the cycle of poverty.
Since there is water everywhere, cultivating vegetables around the house becomes impossible.
A farmer says that he goes to Bholaganj, Bichanakandi, Jaflong to look for work.
“If people had other ways to earn a livelihood, they would not be poor.”
A young farmer, Nur Mia, has got 400 tonnes of rice this year and with this, they meet the family expense, cost for next year’s agriculture work, education of children and wages for workers.
Former chairman of Banghikunda union parishad, Rasel Ahmed, said “In haor areas, people are totally dependent on agriculture but there is no chance for round the year agriculture work here; people produce crops once a year and rely on that.”
The young of these areas need to be skilled with technical education, he added. The former principal of Sunamganj Government College, Parimal Kanti De, adds “Children in haor areas are not getting effective life-transforming skills and so, there cannot make any contribution to the national economy.”
Technical institutes need to be established here and once the youth are trained, they will find ways to improve lives and escape the cycle of poverty, he observed.
“The people here are also deprived of a proper communication system which is adversely impacting the economic life of the area.”
MP of Sunamgaj-1, Moazzem Hossain Ratan, says “communication in haor areas is improving under the present government; many bridges and culverts are being built and a border road will be constructed soon; once these are in place, work will be generated and poverty eradicated.”

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