President Urges Youth to Build Social Movement Against Drugs

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has called upon the youth and socio-voluntary organizations to raise awareness and forge a robust social movement against narcotics. He made the remarks on Wednesday at Bangabhaban during a courtesy call paid by a 38-member delegation from Ahoban, a socio-cultural platform representing young students and professionals from Thakurgaon district. The delegation was led by Convener Luqman Sharif and Member Secretary Dr. Tahmid Ahmed, according to a press release from the President’s Press Wing.

During the meeting, the President warned that failing to protect the younger generation from the menace of drugs will severely impede national progress. Narcotics destroy promising futures while devastating families and the social fabric, making broad-based civic resistance critical.

He emphasized that regional prosperity requires civic empowerment alongside the cultivation of education, science, culture, and humanitarian values. The President praised Ahoban for organizing local initiatives such as school science fests, inclusive football tournaments for persons with disabilities, medical camps, winter clothes distribution, and youth carnivals. Urging young professionals to drive Thakurgaon’s socioeconomic development, he highlighted their role in uplifting impoverished communities, supporting underprivileged students, and easing citizens’ access to public services. He also encouraged them to practice democratic values and healthy cultural pursuits.

The delegation members expressed gratitude to the President for his mentorship and dedication to Thakurgaon’s welfare, pledging to contribute to a humanitarian and progressive Bangladesh from their respective fields. The President assured them of his continued support.

DCH Trust Delegation Meets President

In a separate engagement, a delegation from Dhaka Community Hospital Trust (DCH Trust), led by its coordinator Prof. Dr. Mahmudur Rahman, called on President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at Bangabhaban.

Commending the trust’s philanthropic medical services, the President urged the organization to expand healthcare access for underprivileged and marginalized communities. He noted DCH Trust’s enduring role in treating low-income patients, sharing that he had personally referred many destitute individuals to the facility for care over the years.

In response to requests for institutional support regarding hospital and healthcare initiatives, the President assured the delegation of required assistance. The delegation also formally invited the President to attend as chief guest at an international conference titled “Disaster Preparedness and Resilient Bangladesh: Leading the Way into the Future,” scheduled for November 30 at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, to which he gave his consent.

The visiting delegation included DCH Trust Project and Research Director Md. Golam Mostafa, Director Prof. Dr. Omar Sharif Ibn Hasan, and Public Relations Director Waqar Hossain Tapan. Senior officials and secretaries to the President were present during the meetings.