Bangla national daily The Prothom Alo organised the discussion, held at Kurigram Town Hall on Sunday.

The speakers said monga is a recurring phenomenon, which occurs due to lack of work, not for scarcity of food. Poor people can not buy food during pre-harvest Bangla months of Aswin and Kartik because they do not have any purchasing power due to lack of work.

Several lakh hardcore poor in five northern districts are affected by the monga every year. Most of them face food crisis during the period.

Representative of different NGOs and other organizations working in Nilphamari, Gibandha, Lalmonir-hat, Kurigram and Rangpur districts participated in the open discussion on ways to remove monga.

Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Azizar Rahman opened the discussion.

The DC said monga is not incidental. It has been affecting the poor people in the region for decades. Suggestions of the open

discussion will help the government take up long term steps to remove monga. But it will take time.

He called upon industrialists, well to do people, the government and NGOs to come up with plans to establish agro-based industries in the region to create jobs for the poor.

The DC also thanked the management of The Prothom Alo for organising the discussion.

Among others, the discussion was participated by The Prothom Alo Editor Motiur Rahman, Joint Editor Anisul Hoque, Grameen Bank Deputy Managing Director Dilip Borua, CARE Project

Officer Imamul Hasan, Dhaka University teacher Prof Mahbub, RDRS (Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service) Senior Programme Manager Najrul Gani and Kurigram Municipality Chairman Abu Bokor Siddique.

Motiur Rahman said the monga problem can not be solved by the government alone or any organisation. Well to do people and NGOs should come forward with pro-grammes for setting up industries and other sustainable development programmes to create jobs for illiterate people who have no training on any vocation.

Prothom Alo with tried to help the monga-hit people in certain areas but it was a drop in the ocean.

Dilip Chandra Borua said handicrafts manufacture can be a prospective sector, which needs micro-credit and training. NGOs can do the job best, he said.

CARE Programme Officer said long term poverty alleviation programes and proper use of resources can remove the monga.

Abu Bakar Siddique said about Tk 10 core awas given to different NGOs this year to support monga stricken people in

Kurigram. There should be an investigation on how the money was spent. Giving micro-credit to the poor without any vocational training does not actually benefit the recipients.

Nazrul Islam said river erosion is one of the main reasons for

Monga in Kurigram. The problem will not be solved unless river erosion is stopped, he said.