PM Tarique Rahman hands over vehicles to July Uprising participants

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has provided vehicles to three participants of the July mass uprising to help them build sustainable livelihoods and become self-employed.

He handed over a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, two pedal rickshaws and two battery-powered auto-rickshaws at a ceremony at his Tejgaon office in Dhaka on Saturday (August 8).

During the event, the prime minister spoke with the beneficiaries and enquired about their health, families and financial circumstances. He also advised them on the safe use and management of the vehicles.

Mohammad Aziz Sheikh, a second-year social work student at Mirpur Bangla College from Lohagara in Narail, received a CNG auto-rickshaw. He had been supporting his family by driving a CNG alongside his studies before he was shot during the July uprising in the Mirpur-10 area. Thirty-six bullet fragments reportedly remain lodged in his body.

Rahman encouraged Aziz to continue his education while using the vehicle to support himself and his family.

Md Gaffar, from Alamdanga in Kushtia, received two pedal rickshaws. During the uprising, he regularly supplied drinking water to protesters in the Mohakhali area and used his own rickshaw to take injured people to hospitals.

Gaffar said he plans to drive one rickshaw himself in Dhaka and rent out the other to generate additional income.

Asadul Haque Bishu, 65, of Gabtali in Bogura, was also given two battery-powered auto-rickshaws. He had been struggling financially due to a lack of employment, and the vehicles are expected to provide him with a regular source of income.

BNP lawmaker Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abu Abdullah M Saleh Shibli and Additional Press Secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon attended the ceremony.