A roundtable discussion was held on Saturday at the CIRDAP Auditorium to advocate for a fair, inclusive, and sustainable budget allocation for the local government and water-sanitation sector in the upcoming national budget for FY 2025–26.

The event was organized by development organization DORP, with the support of Helvetas Bangladesh. The discussion was attended by representatives from various ministries and commissions of the government, economists, engineers, development workers, and members of the media.

Dr. Tofayel Ahmed, Chairman of the Local Government Reform Commission was present as the chief guest speaker  as special Guests included Professor Dr. Mohammad Helal Uddin, Executive Vice Chairman of the Microcredit Regulatory Authority; Dr. Abu Mohammad Zakir Hossain, Member of the Health Sector Reform Commission; Dr. Zillur Rahman NDC, Managing Director of the Bangladesh NGO Foundation; and Sabbir Ahmed FCA, Member of the Bank Reform Taskforce.

Keynote presentations were delivered by Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, a prominent economist and Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, and AHM Noman, Founder and CEO of DORP while discussions on the keynote topics were led by Mir Abdus Shahid, Additional Chief Engineer (Civil), Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE); Ehteshamul Russel Khan, Additional Chief Engineer (Planning), DPHE; and Mainul Hasan Sohel, General Secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU). Representatives from various public and private organizations and stakeholders also participated in the discussion.

The session was chaired by Mohammad Nurul Amin, Chairman of DORP, who in his closing remarks highlighted DORP’s initiatives and stressed the importance of increasing local government budgets and using them effectively to solve the country’s water and sanitation challenges. The discussion was moderated by Mohammad Zobaer Hasan, Deputy Executive Director of DORP.