PM wants Bangladesh to continue advance towards development

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government wanted Bangladesh to continue journey towards development and prosperity. "Despite Bangladesh is having to face natural and man-made disasters like arson terrorism, we want country's continued journey towards development," she said while inaugurating the newly constructed 15-storey Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Bhaban and 13-storey Information Commission Bhaban.

Joining the programme virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence here, she also laid the foundation stone of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) Complex.

The prime minister said Bangladesh is marching towards prosperity confronting all the odds as the country has been being run by a democratic government with a stable condition since 2009.

"I express my gratitude to the countrymen as they time and again voted for the boat and gave me chance to serve them," she said.

She also said her government has turned the country into a Digital Bangladesh in accordance with their election manifesto of 2008 and is now working tirelessly to transform it into a Smart Bangladesh by 2041.

The eye-catching BTRC Bhaban was constructed on one acre of land and Information Commission Bhaban on 0.35 acre of land.

The premier said, "Whenever we take any development initiative, we find that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had given its foundation. Today's Bangladesh is approaching towards development depending on the foundation built by Bangabandhu."

She said she is feeling very happy as she has been able to work for the welfare of Bangladesh and its people following the footprints of the Father of the Nation.

The BTRC Bhaban, Information Commission Bhaban and BFDC complex were connected to the function.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar also spoke while Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin moderated the programme.

An audio-video documentary on the newly constructed BTRC and Information Commission bhabans and the BFDC Complex was screened on the occasion.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has introduced the universal pension scheme to make everyone's life meaningful and secure after their retirement. "We're working for upgrading the living standard of every person," she said after giving a brief description of her government initiatives to provide the countrymen with an improved and better life as envisioned by the Father of the Nation. Brushing aside the government of Zia, she said Ershad and Khaleda Zia did not think about the welfare of the masses rather to make their own fortunes by committing unbridled corruption and unleashing inhuman torture to the Awami League leaders and activists.

Due to her government efforts for the development of telecommunications, she said the Tele-density in Bangladesh now stands at 104 percent which is "unimaginable". The Awami League government has reached mobile phones to the masses by breaking the monopoly of a company of the then BNP foreign minister Morshed Khan, she said, adding that 18 crore SIMs are now being used in the country of 17 crore people while 12.70 crore people are now using the internet.

"We're in such a way to take Bangladesh towards prosperity with the knowledge of technology," she said. As the demand for bandwidth is increasing day by day, she said they have given licenses to three private companies to set up submarine cables. In this context, she said Khaleda Zia had declined to take submarine cable free of cost on the plea of stealing information when they were in power in 1991.

She said her government had launched the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 following an initiative taken by her after assuming power for the second time in 2009. Made in Bangladesh brand mobile handsets and laptops are now being exported, she said, adding they have enacted the Right to Information Act for ensuring people's rights to get their required information.

"The use of technology started during the tenure of the Awami League government. There was nothing during the BNP regime," she said. Describing the BTRC as one of the partners of Bangladesh's journey towards development, she said it has earned over 4.8 million US dollars by allocating frequencies since 2011 to 2023. She also briefly described her government's measures for the development of the information sector.

The prime minister said, "Our target is not to hide any information rather to work for the welfare of the people." About film, she said they are building everything required for the development of the film industry. She said the Awami League government has developed the BFDC which was set up by Bangabandhu, adding that her mother had a contribution to it as she advised her father (Bangabandhu) to take initiative to make films in Bangladesh.

The premier said the Father of the Nation allocated a big piece of land in Kabirpur under Kaliakair Upazila of Gazipur district for the film industry where the government is building Bangabandhu Film City on 105 acres of land at a cost of Taka 380 crore. She asked all concerned to make films which are good for a society, family and a state from which one can learn patriotism and dutifulness towards the nation, saying, "We're giving grants to make good films." The prime minister as well asked all concerned to make more films on children as they can learn something good for them and the country.

She, however, greeted the concerned people for making good films which help bring the people in cinema halls again. Sheikh Hasina said that Bangabandhu had done a lot of work to ensure the country's socio-economic advancement and thus change the fate of the countrymen alongside rebuilding a war-ravaged country in a very short period. The prime minister said Bangladesh had achieved recognition of 126 countries and many international organisations as an independent country soon after its independence under the leadership of the Father of the Nation.

Bangladesh had become a member of the International Telecommunication Union on September 5 in 1973, she said, adding that the BFDC was built in accordance with a bill brought by the Father of the Nation on April 3 in 1957. Rangamati's Betbunia Ground Station was built by Bangabandhu which paved the way to launch Bangabandhu Satellite-1 into the orbit, she said, adding that the Bangladeshi television channels are now using the satellite, which helps keep the country's money inside its territory.

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