[India] Poverty most formidable development challenge in South Asia: Atwal

from New Kerala

Colombo: Observing that widespread poverty in South Asia posed the most formidable challenge to development, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal today said the region's parliamentarians should take collective action to tackle the menace.

"As elected representatives of the people, Parliamentarians must support and supplement the efforts being made by their respective governments," Atwal told the 4th Conference of Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians.

Widespread poverty in the region posed the most formidable development challenge for all member states, he said.

He said the people of the SAARC region were the real strength of the region and that this large human resource must be taken full advantage of by providing them with enabling conditions so that they can contribute to the prosperity of the region.