Md Saiful Islam, Gournadi (Barishal)

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced that 41 lakh poor and vulnerable families across the country will be brought under the government's Family Card scheme by next June.

He made the announcement on Monday while exchanging views with the beneficiaries of the program at the Batazore Ashwini Kumar Institution grounds in Gournadi upazila of Barishal. During the 16-minute session, the Prime Minister spoke directly with the beneficiaries, listening to the concerns of destitute women heads of households for eight minutes.

The Prime Minister stated that although the budget inherited from the previous administration lacked allocations for the social safety net initiative, the new national budget passed recently contains sufficient funding. Under this allocation, an average of 7,000 families in each upazila will receive family cards over the next year, with the ultimate goal of covering all four crore families nationwide within the next five years. To mark the launch of the regional phase, family cards were formally handed over to around 600 helpless families in Gournadi.

Highlighting women's empowerment as a cornerstone for national development, the Prime Minister recalled the legacy of the previous BNP government under national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, which made education free for girls up to the intermediate level.

Prior to the discussion, the Prime Minister formally launched a massive tree-plantation campaign by planting coconut and neem saplings on the banks of the newly re-excavated Sarikal-Batajor Canal in Harhar village. Gournadi Upazila BNP Member Secretary Sharif Zahir Sajjad Hannan noted that approximately 2,500 saplings of various species will be planted on both sides of the canal under this project.

During the event, Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Zahir Uddin Swapon, who is also the MP for the Barishal-1 presented the Prime Minister with a souvenir containing a neem sapling planted in a tub filled with soil collected from 10 local canals originally excavated by former President Ziaur Rahman.

Local leaders, including the convenor of Gournadi Upazila BNP and freedom fighter Syed Sarwar Alam Biplab, noted that the premier's visit has sparked widespread enthusiasm among the residents of Barishal and Gournadi, marking his return to the region after 22 years.