Nilkhet Launches New Citizen Service Centre to Ease Public Access
Following the launch in Gulshan and Uttara, a new Citizen Service Centre has been inaugurated at the Telecommunication Exchange Building in Nilkhet, Dhaka. On the evening of July 20 (Sunday), Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant on Posts, Telecommunications, and ICT to the Chief Advisor, formally inaugurated and visited the service centre located in Ward 18 of Nilkhet. Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Shish Haydar Chowdhury was also present at the event.
According to officials, the aim of the Citizen Service Centre is to make government services more accessible and hassle-free for the public. Citizens will now be able to access services such as citizenship certificates, inheritance certificates, trade licenses, national ID corrections, and birth registration updates—alongside both government and private services. In total, 81 citizen services will be provided under one roof.
Speaking to the media following the inauguration, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb stated that all government digital facilities will soon be integrated under the umbrella of the Citizen Service Centre. “Each Citizen Service Centre will be operated by trained entrepreneurs who will assist citizens with their service needs,” he said.
He added, “The Citizen Service Centre is an important component in building a Digital Bangladesh. It will play a supportive role in improving the quality of life for the people.”
Previously, in 2010, under the initiative of a2i, the now-deposed Awami League government launched Union Digital Centres (UDCs) nationwide. However, numerous allegations of irregularities emerged, including claims that some entrepreneurs turned the centres into partisan ventures, leading to the rise of middlemen and harassment. In October, officials of Union Parishads began a movement demanding the abolition of forced contractual employment at 4,578 union-level UDCs and called for direct recruitment and the integration of the centres under the revenue budget.
In this context, to simplify citizen access to public services, the interim government launched the pilot phase of the Citizen Service Centre project under the slogan “All Citizen Services in One Address” on May 26 at the State Guest House Jamuna, inaugurated by Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus.
