The village courts have factually become blessings for the rural poor through bringing justice to them at their doorsteps, reports BSS.
The opinion came recently at a daylong workshop organised by Eco Social Development Organisation (ESDO), an NGO, at Kawnia upazila parishad auditorium in the district.
The workshop was arranged under the "Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Project" of the Local Government Division with the assistance of the European Union and UNDP.
With Kawnia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Dipankar Roy in the chair, union chairmen, members and secretaries, NGO executives, village court beneficiaries, professionals, religious leaders, women activists and elite participated in the workshop.
District Facilitator of UNDP for Rangpur Mahbubul Haque, its Upazila Coordinator Hafiz Al Asad, senior journalist Sarwarul Alam Mukul, representatives Maria Sarker of SEED, Farzana Runa of ASOD and Shudhangshu Shekhor of ASA, addressed among others.
Some beneficiary women and men narrated the benefits and experiences they received from the village courts.
The speakers said the rural people were getting justice from the village courts without knocking the doors of the courts. The process already created congenial atmosphere among villagers in resolving minor disputes, problems and conflicts amicably.
Mahbubul Haque stressed on further strengthening the village courts involving the public representatives to assist the poor and distressed people in getting justice in a hassle-free manner without knocking the doors of the law-enforcers and courts.
Terming concept of village court as an epoch-making, the UNO laid importance on providing more support to the public representatives in creating trust of mass people in this regard.