Special Correspondent :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday called for standing beside the common people as much as possible instead of arranging a huge iftar party during the holy month of Ramadan.
Apart from that, the Prime Minister has also instructed the authorities to establish modernised storage facilities in all eight divisions to preserve the agricultural products in the country.
She made these instructions while chairing the regular weekly Cabinet meeting held at her office in Dhaka. Later, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain briefed reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
Mahbub said, “The PM made an appeal. She earlier made a decision not to arrange iftar parties. Today, she said those who are eager or have resources should stand by the people as per their capacity. If needed, they should stand by the people with the money they are eager to spend for the iftar parties.”
Besides, the PM issued two specific directives for the authorities concerned: one is to develop agriculture-based cooperatives, and the second is to construct modern preservation storages in the country’s eight divisions to preserve agro-goods, he said.
She directed the Agriculture Ministry and the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division to develop agriculture-based cooperatives in line with the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The construction of modern preservation storages will help control unusual price hikes for some goods and maintain the normal supply of the products on the market during the off-season.
The PM said modern preservation storages should have separate chambers for different agricultural goods, according to the cabinet secretary.
These issues were included in the Cabinet minutes as Cabinet decisions. The Cabinet Division will follow up on the issues from time to time.
In the meeting, the ministers and state ministers briefed the PM about the ministries and divisions for Ramadan and the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. Three ministries-the Commerce Ministry, Food Ministry, and Fisheries and Livestock Ministry-have informed the PM about the preparations.
He said that the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry informed us that it has started selling eggs, meat, milk, and other materials at a fair price in the important cities, while the Commerce Ministry has started selling oil, dal, and sugar at the mill gate, so that no one can hike its price.
At the same time, the ministries of food and commerce have strengthened market monitoring and started special drives, so that no one can hike prices or illegally hoard important essential commodities.
