A minister of the incumbent government has observed that the country is now hunger-free and the rate of poverty here will come down to 10 percent before the next parliamentary election.
He said that the poverty rate has reduced to merely 20 percent from 41 percent during the last 10-year tenure of the Awami League government.
Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud came up with these observations Saturday at a Rangunia Upazila Parishad auditorium event in Chattogram, reports BSS.
He said, “Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared to build a hunger- and poverty-free Bangladesh… the country will be poverty-free in phases.”
The prime minister has taken various initiatives to make Bangladesh beggar-free. The government has already declared some upazilas beggar-free, the minister added.
Once a food deficit country, Bangladesh is now a food surplus country and has decided to export food, he added.
Also the publicity and publication secretary of ruling Awami League, the minister hoped that the rate would come down to 10 percent before the next general elections.
Dr Mahmud was distributing financial assistance among 261 insolvent people from the information minister’s fund. He also distributed multimedia projectors and sports items among educational institutions.
Dr Mahmud said the government has distributed 80 tonnes of rice among flood-affected people in Rangunia upazila.
He urged AL leaders and activists to remain alert against those who are only interested in “politics of votes”.
Among others, Upazila Parishad Chairman and Awami League upazila unit president Khalilur Rahman Chowdhury; Assistant Commissioner (land) Purbita Chakma; Rangunia Municipality Mayor Md Shahjahan Sikder; and upazila vice chairpersons Md Shafiqul Islam and Monowara Begum; addressed the programme. The event was chaired by UNO Md Masudur Rahman.
