Lalpur:State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin stated that development efforts would be meaningless without ensuring the safety of children and providing them opportunities for a better future. She made these remarks while inaugurating a road development project by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) at Kashimbazar in Lalpur upazila.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Farzana Sharmin interacted with local children during the event and distributed chocolates and flowers among them. She expressed her concerns about the rising drug abuse trend, urging parents to play a responsible role in shielding their children from drugs and other social crimes.
The state minister highlighted that individuals identified as drug users through dope tests would be disqualified from government employment, and she announced plans to expand the scope of dope testing. She also insisted that all government infrastructure projects, such as road construction, adhere to quality standards, emphasizing that irregularities in government development projects will not be tolerated.
Farzana Sharmin called on local residents to act as stakeholders in monitoring development projects, ensuring that action will be taken if any irregularities are detected. She warned against financial misconduct or corruption to obtain benefits under social safety net programs, like the Family Card scheme, affirming that receiving such benefits is a citizen's right.
In addition to the project in Kashimbazar, Farzana Sharmin inaugurated four other road development projects in the upazila. The event was attended by Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Kazi Md Meshkatul Islam, LGED Executive Engineer Iqbal Hossain, and local political leaders.