People in dire poverty

WITH increasing political volatility looming large now, it's our battle against poverty that's being undercut. Many among the lower income segment have been pushed to, hopefully, temporary poverty. The success story of some 16 million people coming out of poverty during the first decade of the millennium not only pointed at how efficiently the country was reducing its poverty level, but also the signs of a booming economy.  
Small traders, cart pullers, hawkers to construction workers, and the people living at the edge of poverty are the ones who are being hit the hardest. According to development specialists the adversity of people below and above the poverty line is expected to take a further dip if the political impasse continues. Many by now have fallen into debt traps while the livelihoods of many may have been affected irreparably. Poverty through shorter spells is back while some of our past gains are going in vain. Let's not forget that it took Bangladesh a decade to bring the 49 percent poverty rate in 2000 down to a marked 31.5 percent in 2010. In order to improve further we must basically overcome the political instability factor.
Bangladesh, branded as one of the top performers among 22 states in terms of reducing multidimensional poverty, very recently seems to have brought some of the poverty back by keeping to egocentric and violent political pursuits. The need of the hour for our politicians is to realise the consequences of their stubborn and self-centered political programmes in terms of halting pace to fight poverty.