Four villages of Rampasha union of Sylhet’s Bishwanath upazila – Jamshedpur, Dhalipara, Makhargaon and Amtail – are well-known as greater Amtail village.
The disability rate among the inhabitants of Amtail village is more than double than the overall rate in Sylhet.
“Sheikh Rehana, the younger daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, brought this humanitarian issue to the notice of her elder sister Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Taking the issue into cognisance immediately, she said, the humanitarian premier provided Taka 2,500 each to 471 persons with disabilities in Rampasha union and gave Taka 16.13 lakh for providing a ‘lungi’ and a ‘sari’ for each family of the union.
To ensure well-being and a beautiful future for the disabled children of Amtail village, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to bring all the differently-abled persons of the village under the allowance for the disabled by properly identifying their problems, the press secretary said.
Sheikh Hasina stressed the need for door-to-door counseling to raise awareness among them about healthcare and family planning, and making them aware of keeping the environment of their houses and surroundings neat and clean.
The prime minister suggested supplying vitamins, supplementary medicines and drinking water to ensure all the nutrients in food, and filling up earth, managing waste, introducing drainage system and ensuring other infrastructural development of the village.
She instructed the authorities concerned to establish schools for the disabled and recruit necessary manpower to provide multi-dimensional education as per the needs of the children with disabilities.
As per the requirement of these children, Sheikh Hasina put emphasis on supplying necessary equipment like wheelchairs, tricycles, hearing devices and visual aids for them.