Check population growth for sustainable dev

AK Khandakar tells workshop

20 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Unb, Dhaka

Planning Minster Air vice Marshal (Retd) AK Khandakar speaks at a workshop titled 'Sixth five-year planning: Strategies and challenges' at the NPDA auditorium in the city yesterday.Photo: PID

Planning Minster Air vice Marshal (Retd) AK Khandakar yesterday stressed the need for checking growth of the country's population to ensure sustainable development. “Additional population growth is a major barrier to the country's development. At any cost, we have to bring back the population growth rate close to zero,” he said while addressing a daylong workshop in the city. National Planning and Development Academy (NPDA) organised the workshop titled 'Sixth five-year planning: Strategies and challenges' at the NPDA auditorium. Chaired by NPDA Director General Dr MA Kamal, the workshop was addressed by Economics Division chief of Planning Commission Dr Shamsul Alam and NPDA Director Kaniz Fatema. Speaking on the occasion, AK Khandakar said agricultural land had been declining gradually due to development work and urbanisation to keep pace with the population growth. On corruption, the planning minister said an 'anti-corruption wave' has been raised in society and the people now abhor those who are corrupt. The planning minster urged all to come forward in creating an anti-corruption movement among the young generation against the longstanding, socially degrading practice.