PM Expresses Determination to Advance Facing Every Disasters

"Once major barriers to implementation of development plans were natural disasters. But, now we've to encounter man-made disasters alongside natural disasters....we'll have to take the country ahead by facing all these disasters," she said.

The Prime Minister said this apparently referring to the man-made disasters like ongoing violence, arson, burning people to death through hurling petrol bombs at vehicles by the BNP-Jamaat nexus in the name of blockades and hartals.

Sheikh Hasina made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the Bangladesh Planning Commission held at her office as the Chairperson of the commission.

Briefing reporters, PM's Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhuri said the meeting took place after long 30 years, as the last meeting was held in 1984.

The Prime Minister said that to make Bangladesh a self-dependent and dignified nation, local resources would have to be utilized properly to gain the targeted outcome not relying on others.

She directed the authorities concerned to speed up the pace of project implementation side by side with completing the development projects within the stipulated timeframe to avoid cost overrun.

Sheikh Hasina also underscored the need for giving due importance to generating more employments as well as boosting production and marketing of jute and jute goods.

The PM's press secretary said the meeting discussed undertaking realistic measures to materialize the government's "Vision 2021" and making Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country by 2041.

He said the issue of mobilizing necessary resources for materializing the plans was also discussed in the meeting.

A proposal for raising the status of Planning Commission members to Senior Secretary and of Division Chiefs to Secretaries was also placed in the meeting.

Besides, proposals were made to increase the manpower at the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), strengthen its close monitoring and supervision through setting up district-level offices.

A total of four presentations were made during the meeting. Planning Division Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam made a presentation on the overall activities of the Planning Commission as well as strengthening it.

Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary (SID) Suraiya Begum made a presentation on the overall activities of her division, while IMED Acting Secretary Shahidul Islam made another presentation on the overall activities of his division.

General Economics Division (GED) member of the Planning Commission Prof Dr Shamsul Alam made a presentation on the preparation of formulating the ensuing 7th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).

In the presentation, he showed that the preparations for formulating the 7th Five-Year Plan is going on in the right direction.

Soon after the independence, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established the Planning Commission associating the country's renowned economists to rehabilitate the economy in the war-ravaged country.

Bangabandhu also introduced the first Five-Year Plan to meet the country's development needs.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal also spoke at the meeting, while PM's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Moshiur Rahman, State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, PM's Principal Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder and PMO Senior Secretary Md Abul Kamal Azad as well as Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present.