Prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that the prices of essential commodities would be reined in at a tolerable level in Bangladesh during the month of Ramadan.
‘I hope that the price inflation will remain at a tolerable level during the holy month of Ramadan and it will be possible to rein in the prices of daily necessities in the market,’ she said.
The prime minister was responding to a written question from ruling party lawmaker (Bhola) Ali Azam during PM’s question answer session in the House.
She said that the measures already taken by the government would provide relief to the poor families, including elderly persons, widows, women left by husbands and low income groups.
Hasina, the leader of the House, said that the present government was the people’s government. ‘So the government is always trying to ease the suffering of the people.’
‘The government is doing everything to maintain normal prices of essential consumer goods. We have already managed to contain the abnormal rise in consumer prices to a large extent,’ she said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh was feeling the pressure of imported inflation due to the increase in the prices of some products such as fuel oil, edible oil, wheat, fertilisers and various food products, consumer goods and industrial raw materials in the world market.
The prime minister also said that various duty exemptions were being provided to cut down inflation.
In response to a question from Awami League’s another Bhola lawmaker Nurunnabi Chowdhury, she said that the country was continuously moving forward and with the growing economic activities, the quality of life of people had also improved.
‘As a result, the demand for natural gas, the main driving force of the economy, is also increasing gradually. So it is not possible to maintain the supply to meet demand of gas.’
She also highlighted the steps taken by the government for the development of the energy sector.
Reiterating the government’s zero-tolerance policy against corruption, the prime minister told Independent lawmaker (elected from Kishoreganj) Sohrab Uddin that graft hampered overall development of the country.
‘It’s not possible to prevent corruption only through law enforcement and punishment. Corruption will be eradicated from the society and the state through a coordinated initiative by building a social movement,’ she said.
Replying to another question by Awami League lawmaker from Laxmipur Noor Uddin Chowdhury Nayan, the prime minister said that initiatives would be taken to construct Shaheed Minar in all educational institutions now without Shaheed Minar.
In response to the question of Independent lawmaker elected from Nilphamari Siddiqul Alam, Hasina said that no project for the construction of multi-storied residential flats has been taken up for the purpose of rehabilitating the people living in Bihari camp and improving their quality of life.
‘Planned multi-storied residential flats can be constructed with government funding or grants … after feasibility studies,’ she said.
