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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered the authorities concerned to maintain law and order and keep the prices of commodities under check.
“If there is any extortion, all concerned have to take very strong action,” she told a meeting of the secretaries at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday morning.
Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain told reporters at the Secretariat after the meeting.
“She has asked to keep an eye on maintaining law and order and controlling market prices. In the case of surveillance, she has talked about a specific area where on many occasions the issue of extortion comes over the price of goods. In this case, she has asked all concerned to take strong measures so it does not happen anywhere,” said Mahbub.
"She asked us to look at one thing regarding law and order. Concerning the incidents of mugging, youth gangs or other such crimes, she asked to form committees at the local level and pay attention,” added the cabinet secretary.
PM to fix flaws in new syllabus soon
The prime minister asked the authorities concerned to take prompt steps to fix errors and flaws if any in new syllabus introduced in the country’s schools through proper review.
“If there is any mistake, if there is any factual error or any flaw, then steps should be taken quickly. There should be no delay,” she was quoted as saying by the cabinet secretary.
‘Expedite implementation of projects’
The prime minister asked the secretaries to work to complete the implementation of the ongoing development projects as soon as possible and make sure the projects would be implemented for the welfare of the people.
“She has asked to pay attention so that the people are benefited from the projects. She said her main goal is to improve the fate of the people…. So, the projects should be picked considering these things,” said Mahbub.
Turning to inflation, investment, revenue collection, the top bureaucrat said the prime minister directed the authorities to work so that inflation should be below the GDP growth.
Noting that a large number of people who are supposed to pay income tax are still out of the tax net, she has given strict instructions to bring them under the income tax net.
The prime minister asked them to keep eyes so that the foreign investors don’t face unnecessary harassment here and remove complications if there are any.
“She won’t take it lightly if the investment is hindered for any reason,” said the cabinet secretary.
The prime minister also asked the top bureaucrats to explore new markets for Bangladeshi goods.
She asked the secretaries to exercise austerity in spending government’s funds and explore new export markets for Bangladeshi goods including pharmaceuticals items, clothes, foods, agricultural goods and jute products.
She asked to provide agricultural, leather and jute products with the similar facilities, which are now applicable for garment items. Unlike the garments, the raw materials of agricultural, leather and jute products are available in Bangladesh, she said.
"It’ll have to search for new export markets, especially some markets. We should search markets in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, East Asia and Africa especially for pharmaceuticals, apparels, food, agricultural goods, jute products. In this case, if needed, assistance should be given,” Sheikh Hasina was quoted as saying.
The prime minister asked all to exercise austerity in the use of electricity and energy and ensure that irrigation is not hampered during this season.
She asked for initiatives to fulfil the vacant posts and ensure timely promotion in the government services.
The premier asked to improve the food preservation system and enhance the food storage capacity.
