An Legal Information and Help Desk (LIHD) was set up at the court building of the town here on Tuesday for the distressed people particularly the backward char dwellers.

The objective of THE setting up LIHD at the court building is to provide the support regarding legal aid to the char people so that they can file cases with the courts taking the advices of the LIHD in a bid to get proper justice from the formal courts.

An inaugural session was also held at the conference room of the district judgeship here on Tuesday afternoon.

District and sessions judge Md. Abul Mansoor Miah   addressed the function as the chief guest and executive director and also founder of  FRIENDSHIP, a national NGO, Runa Khan spoke at the event as the special guest.

Presided over by Ahmed Toufiqur Rahman, assistant director of FRIENDSHIP, the function was also addressed among pothers byBicharak, Nari o ShishuNirjatan Damon Tribunal-1 AKM Shaheed Ahmed, Bicharak, Nari o ShishuNirjatan Damon Tribunal-2 Abdur Rahman, chief judicial magistrate Md. Maruf Hossain, additional judicial magistrate Nazrul Islam, senior judicial magistrate Upendra Chandra Das, president of District Bar Association Adv. Ahsanul Karim Lachu, and General secretary Adv. Sirajul Islam.

Later, the guests accompanying the invited guests and participants inaugurated the LIHD through cutting a cake at the conference room. FRIENDSHIP, a leading non-government organization of the country, will conduct the booth under the Inclusive Citizenship Sector (ICS) of Good Governance Project funded by Eriks,  Luxembourg FRIENDSHIP at the direct supervision of the district legal aid committee (DLAC), sources said.

Ahmed Toufiqur Rahman in his welcome speech said the organization has been working in the chars of Gaibandha and Kurigram districts for 20 years in a bid to change the socio-economic condition of the char people

As most of the people of the chars are not educated, they feel embarrassed, fear and shame; they are not interested to go to the district town to file cases with the courts to get fair justice from the formal courts. As a result, the char people are being deprived of the proper justice of the formal court of the government, he  added.

Taking the matter in view, the officials of FRIENDSHIP presented a proposal to the district legal aid committee headed by district and session judge to set up a LIB in the court building here a few months ago to provide desired services regarding to legal aid to the remote char people of the district, he further added.

Then, the DLAC approved the proposal presented by FRIENDSHIP earlier for setting up a LIB for all distressed and poor people  of the district especially the hard to reach char people here,   he concluded.

In reply to a query, he said a trained para legal of Friendship would provide all sorts of information regarding legal aid so that the char people could file case with the court her without any hassle.

Executive director Runa Khan in her speeches sought wholehearted cooperation of all concerned to run the desk  peacefully.