Shawdesh desk;

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said that Bangladesh had been moving forward facing all the natural and manmade disasters since 2009.

‘Democratic government has continuously been here since 2009. The stability has been prevailing in the country. Though we had to face many things like natural calamities, manmade disasters and arson violence, Bangladesh is marching forward,’ she said.

The PM said this while inaugurating the newly constructed two multistory office buildings- named Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Bhaban and Information Commission Bhaban — in the city’s Agargaon area.

She opened the eye-catching 15-storey BTRC Bhaban and 13-storey Information Commission Bhaban through a virtual platform, joining a function from her official residence Ganabhaban.

Besides, Hasina unveiled the foundation stone of BFDC Complex to construct a multistory new complex for Bangladesh Film Development Corporation in the city’s Karwan Bazar area.

The PM expressed her gratitude to the people of Bangladesh for supporting her party.

She also urged them to vote for ‘boat,’ the electoral symbol of her party- Bangladesh Awami League.

The BTRC Bhaban was constructed on one acre of land, while the Information Commission Bhaban on 0.35 acre of land.

The prime minister said that her government had taken steps to equip the citizens, the society, government and the country with the knowledge of modern technology.

‘We’ll be able to do it successfully. There will be no hunger and poverty in Bangladesh. Every landless will get a house and the living standard of every individual will improve,’ she said.

Talking about the recently introduced universal pension scheme, Sheikh Hasina said that her government had made the pension scheme universal. ‘Now all will get pension, so that they can lead a meaningful life in the family and society,’ she said.

Noting that her government transformed the country into a Digital Bangladesh, she said ‘We want to build the country as a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041 where the population, economy, society and government will be smart.’

Focusing on her government’s success in the telecommunication sector, PM Hasina said that now the teledensity had increased to 104 per cent in Bangladesh. ‘I think it is an incredible development,’ she said.

She said that the number of mobile SIM subscribers was now 180 million against 170 million population in Bangladesh as an individual subscribes more than one SIMs in many cases.

The PM said that she opened the television channels for the private sector during her 1996-2001 regime aiming to raise employment generation in the country as much as possible.

‘Now some 32 out of 44 permitted television channels are in operation in the country,’ she added.

She said that the network of optical fiber was some 1.60 lakh km throughout the country.

Talking about the film sector, the PM asked the filmmakers to make a larger number of movies for the children of the country.

‘We need to make more movies for children so that they can learn things from the films,’ she said.

Highlighting different steps taken by her government to develop the film industry, she said the government was constructing Bangabandhu Film City on a five-acre of land at Kaliakoir in Gazipur at a cost of Tk 380 crore.

She said the government formed the welfare trusts for artists and enhanced the fund allocation for making healthy movies.

The PM said it was expected that the construction of the BFDC complex would be completed by 2024. It’ll be an excellent structure in a nearby place of scenic Hatirjheel, she said.

‘An excellent structure is going to be constructed,’ she said, extending her thanks to the architects of the BFDC complex.

Information and broadcasting minister Hasan Mahmud and posts and telecommunications minister Mustafa Jabbar spoke at the function moderated by PMO secretary Mohammad Salahuddin.