Munshiganj (South) Correspondent

A workshop on activating village courts at Union Parishads was held at the upazila level in Louhajong, Munshiganj. The event took place on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. in  Upazila Conference Room, organized by the Louhajong Upazila Administration.

The workshop was presided over by Louhajong UNO  Md. Nesar Uddin. Government officials, chairmen, panel chairmen, Union Parishad members, persons responsible for village courts, and local dignitaries participated in the program.

With the support of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the workshop was held under the Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh – Phase III Project, implemented by the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.

Speakers at the workshop said that once village courts are activated, grassroots people will be able to access justice. This will help prevent unnecessary wastage of time and money, while also improving the quality of public service.

The UNO said: “Village courts are a great place for resolving the various problems of local people. There is no cost involved in getting justice here. Instead of going through the hassle of filing cases in district-level courts, people can resolve their issues through the village court at the Union Parishad. That is why our village courts need to be made more active, so that local residents can solve their small disputes right here. 

Although some minor issues are sometimes settled through village arbitration, there are many matters—small in scale but quite challenging—that can be effectively addressed by the village court composed of the Union Parishad chairman and members.