Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said the government will take swift action to remove dealers appointed during the “fascist regime” to ease suffering of farmers and check artificial crisis of fertiliser.
He made the remarks while replying to a question in this regard from Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni after the Prime Minister’s question-answer session in the House.
“The Chief Whip raised an important issue, and I noticed that the whole House welcomed it,” the Prime Minister said, adding that if there is agreement across the House, the government will certainly take quick action in this regard.
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Earlier, the Chief Whip alleged that dealers, currently involved in rationing and fertiliser distribution, are harassing farmers and trying to create an artificial crisis in the market.
He said old dealer appointments should be cancelled and new ones should be appointed to ensure farmers get fertiliser at fair prices and to remove “fascist elements” from the system.
Members of Parliament thumped their desks in support during the question.
Universal healthcare a key priority
Replying to a starred question from opposition MP Hafez Muhammad Rabiul Bashar (Satkhira-3), the Prime Minister said ensuring universal health coverage under the “Health for All” policy is a key priority of the government’s election manifesto.
He said the government is committed to ensuring quality healthcare services across the country, including in remote areas.
“The government has already taken plans to improve medical infrastructure, increase manpower and provide modern medical equipment,” Tarique Rahman said.
A project has been proposed to assess the feasibility of constructing, renovating, upgrading and repairing healthcare infrastructure at the upazila level, he added.
“If approved, steps will be taken to increase bed capacity and improve facilities at upazila hospitals based on the recommendations,” the Prime Minister said.
Awareness drives on public health
Replying to another starred question from ruling party MP Md Showkatul Islam (Moulvibazar-2), the Prime Minister said the government has undertaken various programmes to raise awareness on family and public health.
He said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is carrying out awareness campaigns from grassroots to national level on healthcare, family planning, maternal and child health, and public health protection.
Tarique Rahman said services, including maternal care, safe institutional delivery, postnatal care, nutrition support and family planning, are being provided through hospitals, community clinics and union health centres across the country.
He said initiatives such as satellite clinics, school health education programmes, counselling, media campaigns and family planning awareness activities are helping address issues like adolescent care, child marriage prevention, birth spacing and violence against women.
The Prime Minister said the government is also running programmes to control communicable and non-communicable diseases, promote public health education, and expand telemedicine and health information services.
He said arsenic-contaminated tube wells are marked red while safe ones green to guide people in safe water use.
Tarique Rahman also said awareness activities, including workshops and community meetings, are being conducted to ensure safe water and sanitation practices.
He said regular campaigns such as National Sanitation Month in October, World Handwashing Day on October 15 and World Water Day on March 22 are also observed to promote hygiene and public health practices.
The parliament session began around 3:00pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad in the chair.
The first 30 minutes of the sitting were allocated for the Prime Minister’s question time.