UNB: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is addressing the nation marking the completion of her government’s three years.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all should remain alert so that no one can play with the fate of the people of Bangladesh and stop the country’s remarkable journey to economic development.
“We all have to keep up vigil so that no one can play ducks and drakes with the fate of people. Our development march forward must not be hindered in any way,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said this while addressing the nation marking the 3rd anniversary of her current government formed following the 11th national parliamentary election held on December 30, 2018 and stepping into four years of the present Awami League government.
State-owned Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar simultaneously aired the Prime Minister’s address.
Hasina formed the government for the third consecutive term on January 07, 2019 after her party Awami League’s landslide victory in the 2018 national election.
She said many people cannot tolerate it as Bangladesh is now moving fast on the development highway. “So, anti-Bangladesh and anti- independence forces, both at home and aboard, are hatching various conspiracies to stop this progress.”
In her 28-minute speech, the Prime Minister said the anti-Bangladesh and anti-liberation forces are trying to confuse people in social media with false, fabricated and imaginary, information in their efforts to misguide the development partners abroad also. “People are the source of power. We believe in the power of people. So, we’re with people,” she stated.
Corruption & Militancy
The Prime Minister said the government has taken a tough stance against corruption. “The corrupt people are not spared and won’t be spared either, no matter what their political affiliation and strength are. The Anti-Corruption Commission is discharging its duties independently in this connection. But to eradicate this disease, social awareness creation is needed,” she said.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the government has resisted the emergence of militancy with an iron hand. “Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. The people of all religions and creeds are living here maintaining mutual tolerance and will do so in the future, too.”
Economic Progress
Hasina said Bangladesh has made marked progress in the last 13 years. “In the South Asia, Bangladesh is leading in various socioeconomic indexes, including Poverty eradication, development of the health system, reduction of the maternal and child mortality, increase in average life expectancy, women empowerment and literacy.”
She mentioned that this has been possible as people reposed trust in them. “You helped us keep up the pace of the development by giving the scope for running the country for three consecutive times. By continuing this, we’re working to build a pro-welfare, developed and prosperous Bangladesh so that Bangladesh could join the line of the developed countries by 2041. For this, you were with us and I do hope you’ll be with us in the future.”
To build a potential future for the new generation, Hasina said, the government has worked out all the plans for their present and future activities.
She mentioned that the young generation is full of potential and they can remove all the darkness and hurdles, and thus they will build a progressive and secular Bangladesh, which was the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. “The power of the youth can materialise the spirit of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. My strong belief is that our next generations will move forward towards the future with their heads high.”
Pandemic
The Prime Minister said the country has to go through a grave crisis in 2020 and 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic and that crisis is yet to be over. “Amid the crisis, a new variant is spreading fast in various countries of the world. We’ve to be careful right now and follow the health guidelines. Those who haven’t yet taken vaccines, I’m requesting them to get vaccinated quickly.”
Hasina said the Covid-19 vaccination is going on in full swing. A mass vaccination dive has been launched to vaccinate one crore people per month.
She said some 12,95,80,000 doses have been provided and 7,58,00,000 people have already received the first dose 5,35,82,000 got the second dose. “From the last month, the administration of a booster dose started. At present, we’ve more than 9 crore doses in our hand,” she said.
Hasina said the Coronavirus pandemic has created a deep wound in the world economy. “The economies in many countries have been devastated. Our economy has also suffered setbacks and it came to a standstill.”
Stimulus Packages
But, Hasina said, the government with the cooperation of all has managed to overcome that to some extent. “We’re trying to keep the wheel of the economy moving through policy support and various liberal financial stimulus packages.”
“So far, we’ve announced 28 stimulus packages involving Tk 1,87,679 crore. As of October 2021, some Tk 1,06,522 crore has been spent, which is 56.76 percent of the total allocation and some 6.74 crore people and 1,18,000 organisations have been benefited with that,” Hasina said.
The Prime Minister said the new year, 2022, will be a milestone for Bangladesh’s development in infrastructure. “After a few months, in June, we’ll open the much-awaited Padma Bridge. “We’re going to complete it with our own funds defying the chains of conspiracies and hurdles.”
She mentioned that this bridge will connect the southern region of the country with the capital and other regions, which is expected to contribute a 1.2-percent rise in the GDP.
Mega Projects
Hasina said the government has taken a plan to open a 14-km Uttara-Agargaon part of the metro rail in the capital at the end of this year. “It’s expected the metro rail will bring about a revolutionary change in the transport sector of capital Dhaka.”
She mentioned that the country’s first-ever tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli River will be completed in October next.
She said the other big projects in the country are going on in full swing.
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the country’s biggest-ever development project involving Tk 1,13,000 crore having the power generation capacity of 1200 MW, is expected to go into production in April next year.
The Prime Minister said as a government of people her government’s duty and responsibility is to develop the livelihood of people. “You’ll evaluate what we’ve done for you in the last 13 years. But I can say it firmly that we’ve been able to implement the pledges successfully we had made.”
