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Photo: PMO
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Wednesday that his government was working to make Dhaka and the rest of the country clean, pollution-free and healthy, aiming to transform the capital into a city as clean as Tokyo.
“We are trying to make Dhaka and the entire country clean. Initiatives are being taken to reduce air pollution, improve the environment and plant trees in different places,” he said.
The prime minister made the remarks while responding to questions from expatriate Bangladeshis at an exchange of views, organised by the Bangladesh Community, an organisation of Bangladeshis living in Japan, at Hotel New Otani in Tokyo this evening.
Referring to the cleanliness of Tokyo's streets, Tarique Rahman said garbage was rarely seen on the city's roads, in contrast to Dhaka, where waste accumulated in different places.
He said the situation needed to change as waste could spread germs and make people sick. Maintaining a clean environment and ensuring proper waste disposal were essential to protecting public health, he said.
“If we can make Dhaka as clean as Tokyo, as Japan, that will be a major reform for the people.”
The prime minister said the government's reform priorities were focused on improving the lives of marginalised and working-class people, ensuring that the benefits of initiatives in education, healthcare and the environment reached people from all walks of life.
He said rickshaw pullers, CNG-run autorickshaw drivers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, service holders and businesspeople would all benefit from such initiatives.
“As a politician, I understand reform to mean the kind of reform whose benefits reach the marginalised people. There are different kinds of reforms. There are reforms in air-conditioned rooms, and there are also reforms aimed at making the lives of working people a little better.”
He said the government prioritised initiatives that would improve ordinary people's living standards, adding that he attached greater importance to measures benefiting working people because he sought their votes.
He called for the cooperation of all democratic-minded people to implement the reforms and build the Bangladesh they aspired to.
Tarique said attempts were being made to create obstacles to prevent the BNP government from implementing reforms that would benefit ordinary people.
Addressing expatriate Bangladeshis, he said the reform initiatives undertaken by the government would benefit people across the country, including the families of expatriates, and urged them to support the initiatives.
“I am not asking you to vote for us. If you think these initiatives are right, support the work so that we can implement them.”
Referring to satire and ridicule on social media concerning Aam Janata Party Member Secretary Md Tarek Rahman, the prime minister said that although he was the subject of considerable criticism, there was little discussion of the country's various problems.
He reiterated that the government's goal was to implement reforms in education, healthcare, the environment and other areas to improve people's living standards.
While some reforms might benefit a limited number of people, he said, his priority was to pursue initiatives that would benefit a broader section of society.
He stressed that hard work, patience and unity were needed to accomplish the tasks and sought the cooperation and prayers of expatriate Bangladeshis for the country's development.
At the beginning of the programme, the prime minister answered questions from expatriate Bangladeshis on various issues, including plans to help children develop proficiency in Japanese and build skills in healthcare, sports and other fields, simplify business procedures, reopen closed industrial units, increase investment and create employment.
Prime Minister's wife Zubaida Rahman also attended the event, moderated by BNP Executive Committee member Abdus Sattar Patwary.
Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, Prime Minister's Adviser on Finance and Planning Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit, Invest Bangladesh Chairman Ashik Chowdhury and other members of the prime minister's entourage attended the event.
The Japan unit of the BNP presented photographs to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his wife at the event.