Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged businesspeople not to put the commoners into sufferings by charging excessive prices for essential commodities during the holy month of Ramadan.
“It is a moral duty of all to look into the interest of the common people,” she said while addressing the regular cabinet meeting Monday at the Bangladesh Secretariat that dealt with a comprehensive agenda encompassing price, power, ports, duty-free shops in ports, allocation of abandoned houses and so.
Addressing a press briefing in the conference room of the Press Information Department (PID) on the proceedings of the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said Sheikh Hasina observed that the prices of essentials “should not be so high which may put people into suffering”.
One of the agenda of the cabinet meeting was reconsidering the shifting of the BIWTA Headquarters to Barisal. While addressing the agenda, the Prime Minister preferred Narayanganj as the suitable location for setting up the headquarters of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
The cabinet meeting approved an action plan on popularizing solar energy and CFL bulb to save electricity, as the government is trying to harness all the useful prospects for resolving the cumulative power problem.
The cabinet meeting also endorsed the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (Amendment) Act 2009 and the Climate Change Trust Fund Policy.
Besides, the council of ministers decided that abandoned houses will be sold out to the families of martyred freed fighters and wounded freedom fighters at the rate of 1972.
Dealing with another agenda item, the cabinet decided that individuals will be facilitated in setting up duty-free shops inside international airports, river and land ports.
Azad told the journalists that Sheikh Hasina renewed her call for introducing solar panels in the urban areas’ educational institutions and big mills and factories in a bid to reduce pressure on the national grid of electricity.
The Prime Minister further suggested making use of CFL bulbs (capable to save 80 percent energy)) popular in all institutions and houses.
She now spelt out two novel power-saving measures: switching off air-conditioners for one hour a day and taking off suits of dignitaries during hot days.
Sheik Hasina thinks that electricity can be saved significantly by keeping air-conditioners in all institutions and offices off for one hour a day.
The PM requested all not to take the air-conditioner below 24 degrees Celsius as it will help save electricity.
She also urged all to keep bulbs put off in daylight.
As a latest concept in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Hasina suggested that wearing pants and shirts instead of suits in offices during hot season from March to November could save much of the electricity that goes into cooling rooms.
Abul Kalam Azad informed the journalists that, at present, 3.5 lakh families are getting service from the solar-energy system.
He mentioned that the government has already adopted Renewable Energy Policy.
The policy includes introducing CFL bulbs in every government office and solar panels within the next three years and keeping the provision of solar panel in the building code, facilitating production of CFL bulbs.
He said 450-MW electricity by 2015 and 1600 MW by 2020 is expected to be added up into the national grid through implementing the renewable energy policy.
The press conference was told that, at present, the country’s aggregate power-generation capacity is 5,166 MW while presently 38,00-42,00 MW electricity is being generated.
The highest power generation was recorded at 4,205 MW on June 27 this year.
Regarding the climate-change policy, Abul Kalam Azad said from now on a Trustee Board and a Technical Committee will run the climate-change trust fund as the previous national steering committee will be abolished.
A minister or the State Minister for Environment Ministry will be chairman of the Trustee Board.
Ministers and State Ministers for Finance, Agriculture, Shipping, Water Resources, LGRD, Health, Women, and Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary will also be on the board committee.
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