State Minister for Youth and Sports Md. Zahid Ahsan Russell said that the government has taken the initiative to build an international standard sports complex for the disadvantaged and backward communities of the society, including children with special needs, autistic people and the disabled.
He made this statement while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the 'Virtual Chess Competition for People with Disabilities 2021' organized by the Persons with Cerebral Palsy Foundation (PCPF) on Monday (July 12) afternoon.
The State Minister said, a state-of-the-art sports complex will be built for the disabled in Savar at a cost of about 450 crore taka, which will include an 11-storey academic building with 2 basements, dormitory, residential building, gymnasium, swimming pool, mosque, football field, gallery and cricket field. If this sports complex is built, opportunities for sports will be created for all types of disabled people. Through this, it will be possible to create a path for healthy entertainment for them. In addition, we are building a beautiful sports complex for the disabled in the open field next to the National Parliament Building. We have already finalized the design of the complex.
The State Minister for Sports believes that people with disabilities have the right to equal rights and opportunities like healthy and normal citizens of the society. If a path to a healthy and normal life can be created with that opportunity, it will be possible to include them in the mainstream of society. For this, special schools, technical services and rehabilitation systems for people with disabilities are needed, as well as a sports and cultural environment.
The Prime Minister is very sincere about the disabled. His worthy daughter Saima Wazed Putul is doing commendable work on autism. She has already set a unique example in this regard all over the world.
Zahid Ahsan Russell, mentioning that the disabled in our country are very talented, said, "In the last 25 years, Bangladesh has won 216 gold, 109 silver, and 84 bronze medals in the Special Olympics."
