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3 years ago

'This is not right time to demand additional allocations'

PM tells ministries

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presiding over the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held at the NEC conference room through a videoconference from Ganabhaban on Tuesday -PID Photo
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presiding over the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held at the NEC conference room through a videoconference from Ganabhaban on Tuesday -PID Photo

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Describing the present economic situation as stagnant one due to the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the ministries should not demand additional allocations at this moment.

"We need to think about our priority. Our priority is to provide food, shelter and vaccine. In this situation, I don’t think there’s any necessity for approving additional fund (for different ministries)," she said.

The prime minister came up with the statement while approving the revised Annual Development Programme (ADP) for 2020-21 fiscal at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held at the NEC conference room. She joined the programme virtually from Ganabhaban on Tuesday, reports UNB.

She said the government will have to keep the people safe from the scarcity of food, vaccine and medical treatment in this pandemic situation.

"They (mass people) could lead a better life and should not suffer economically, and our priority is to ensure that," she added.

However, Sheikh Hasina assured the ministries of ensuring allocations for essential development and maintenance.

Sheikh Hasina said the government has procured Covid-19 vaccine and will procure more to ensure it for all the 170 million people of the country.

Recalling the early days of Covid-19 pandemic, she said the government was worried what would happen next.

"Ultimately, we took some timely steps so that we could maintain the pace of our progress. Those who’ve come up with proposals seeking additional fund need to keep in mind that we’re running our country in an unnatural situation," she said.

The prime minister mentioned that the government has to give a special attention to rural areas so that villagers have the easy access to food, health, medical facilities and security. 

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