Govt will upgrade all the 35-bed upazila hospitals to 50-bed & 250-bed district level hospitals to 500-bed

July 29,2010

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon physicians to provide adequate treatment to the common people especially the poor and distressed by staying at their respective working places in rural areas. "You have to render adequate Medicare services to the common people living in rural areas and keeping in mind that you have become doctors with tax payers' money," she said. The Prime Minister said this while addressing the "Doctors Conference-2010" organized by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust at Ganabhaban here this morning. Sheikh Hasina, also the chairperson of the trust, said her present government, like the previous one, is working relentlessly to reach healthcare facilities to the doorstep of the people. Referring to the country's health services run with fund from the exchequer, she said the physicians must render their due service to the people specially the poor and the distressed staying beside them as every citizen has an enormous contribution to producing a doctor in the country. The Prime Minister said politics of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was for the poor and the hapless to attain their socio-economic emancipation. Referring to the long struggle of Bangabandhu for building an independent and sovereign Bangladesh, she said her government is working hard to materialize the dream of Bangabandhu through building a happy and prosperous Bangladesh where none will die for lack of food and treatment. She said following the path of the Father of the Nation her present government, like in the past, have taken beneficial programs, including setting up community health clinics, appointing doctors, nurses and other medical staff and raising facilities at the hospitals, for the wellbeing of the poor.

July 27,2010

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said that no benefit would come from giving death threat; the government would perform its responsibility by implementing the High Court(HC) verdict against capturing power illegally and trying the crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation. In reply to remarks of a BNP leader that she will face the same consequences like her father, the Prime Minister said, "I am not afraid of death as the life and death is decided by Allah and none would be able to do any harm to me as long as the Almighty keeps me alive." Sheikh Hasina was addressing a function arranged on the occasion of the founding anniversary of Awami Sechchhasebak League at Ganobhaban this morning. "Same sort of statement was given before planting 76-KG bomb at Kotalipara and the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka to kill me," she said. The Prime Minister added: "I believe that Allah is keeping me alive as He wants that I perform some responsibilities." She said the people would not be misguided through bad remarks as they know well that who worked for the people who did not and who played what roles. Acting president of Awami Sechchhasebak League Advocate Mollah Mohammad Abu Kawsar and General Secretary Pankaj Devnath also spoke on the occasion. At the function, the leaders of the organization greeted the Prime Minister by presenting a bouquet and adorning her with a badge. Mentioning the role of Sechchhasebak Bahini and later Sechchhasebak League from the time of the War of Liberation to other movements, Sheikh Hasina said the organization will have to earn confidence and trust of the people by doing work for their welfare. She asked the leaders and workers of the organization to refrain from the activities that increase sufferings of the people and said that some opportunists creep into the government all the time and they think that their misdeeds would go unheeded and they would be spared. The Prime Minister said those engaged in injustice would not be spared; whoever they might be and whatever the party they belong to.

Food autarky by 2013: PM Sheikh Hasina

July 26,2010

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her government is aiming to make Bangladesh fully self-sufficient in terms of the production, distribution and consumption of food by 2013. The Prime Minister further said Bangladesh will not only attain food autarky, by scaling up production it will also be able to export food to many countries. “Bangladesh will be self-sufficient in food once again,” said Hasina, addressing a function arranged on the occasion of distribution of ‘Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award 2010’ in the city’s Osmani Auditorium on Monday morning. She also called on the country’s scientists to come up with new varieties of crops which are adaptable to the changed global climate. Sheikh Hasina said flash floods, delayed and heavy rains, long-standing drought, excessive temperature, and other natural hazards are taking place due to climate change. “Now you, the scientists have to invent such crops which will protect our agriculture and farmers,” the Prime Minister said. On food security, Sheikh Hasina said her government is strongly committed to ensuring food security for every citizen and that’s why agriculture has been given the top most priority. She was highly critical of the BNP-Jamaat alliance as food production decreased during its regime alarmingly. “In fact, the four-party alliance does not want to make the nation self-sufficient,” she said. The Prime Minister underscored the need for flourishing of agriculture industries and food processing industries in the country for removing employment problems and increasing the income of the mass people. Sheikh Hasina said already the country’s scientists in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institution (IRRI) have invented salinity-resilient rice. “I think if we can apply this variety in the coastal areas, our food production will increase to a large extent,” the Prime Minister said.

Process of exposure to justice of 1971 war criminals has begun: Sheikh Hasin

July 24,2010

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised continued government supports for the victims of cyclone Aila that ravaged parts of the south-western region in 2009 as she visited the affected areas to oversee the rehabilitation campaigns. "The government supports for increased agricultural yields as well as poultry and livestock sub-sectors will continue for livelihood development of the cyclone affected people," she told yesterday at a huge public rally at Shyamnagar upazila where she also distributed homebuilding grants among the cyclone victims. Thousands of people joined the rally defying heavy rains at the HC Pilot High School where Sheikh Hasina urged the cyclone victims to earn self- reliance taking the advantage of the government supports. In a nearly identical rally at Bagali union parishad maidan at neighbouring Koira upazila of Khulna, she urged people to launch a massive afforestation campaign to supplement government initiatives to develop a greenbelt in coastlines to minimize onslaughts of cyclones and tidal surges in particular. The premier flew in a low altitude in an air force helicopter to get a bird's eye view of the current state of the devastated areas and the reconstruction campaign at the affected four upazilas of Khulna and Satkhira. In both the rallies, she said the deadly cyclone Sidr and the subsequent Aila ravaged the south-western region and left a mark of their wraths through creating water logging at several places. The premier said the government took a massive programme to remove the water stagnation alongside the campaign for regaining the navigability of rivers through dredging. But she asked the concerned officials as well as the local people to ensure appropriate steps to stop intrusion of saline waters in floodplains particularly through severing cyclone or tidal surge protection embankments near the coastlines for shrimp cultivation.

July 22,2010

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government has a plan to create an education fund to provide free education to the poor and deprived students. "We are planning to create an education fund specially for the poor students to raise the literacy rate to cent percent for the overall development of the country," she said. The Prime Minister expressed her desire when the newly appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarath Kumara Weragoda paid a courtesy call on her at her office here this morning. During the meeting, they discussed wide range of issues of mutual interests including expansion of bilateral trade and business and increasing import of Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals, ceramics, plastic wares and toiletries by Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister stressed the need for exploring cooperation in tourism, climate change issues, disaster management, health, agriculture science and ICT, literature and arts. Describing education as the key to attain progress and prosperity, Sheikh Hasina said keeping this in mind her government has attached due importance to further expansion of education across the country. In this context, she referred that her present government has made the highest allocation to the country's education sector in the current national budget, which will eventually play a key role in alleviating poverty. The Prime Minister mentioned Sri Lankan President's Education Fund and said the country can extend support to Bangladesh to form its education fund through sharing of experiences. On terrorism and militancy, Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh will play its due role to free the South Asian region from the curses maintaining its firm stance against these social menaces. Sheikh Hasina said her previous government successfully restored peace and stability in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) by politically settling all issues of the CHT region.