Mashahid Ahmed :
In light of the current government’s election manifesto with the slogan of ‘We will do work, we will build the country, Bangladesh first’, a press briefing was organized by the Moulvibazar District Information Office, Moulvibazar National Women’s Organization Auditorium on Wednesday morning, May 13. Moulvibazar Deputy Commissioner Touhiduzzaman Pavel was present as the chief guest at the event. Moulvibazar District Information Officer Mohammad Anwar Hossain presided over the press briefing, and Rubel Mahmud, Deputy Director of Local Government, Moulvibazar, was present as the special guest. Press briefing – Various action plans were highlighted in light of the current government’s election manifesto. Among them, the manifesto pledged to ensure state accountability and people-friendly development through 51 points and 9 main promises. The 51-point manifesto is basically built on 5 main pillars, one of which is to establish a non-discriminatory, justice-based humane society. Reform of the state system. Non-discriminatory socio-economic development and achievement of sustainable state capacity. Restructuring and restoration of fragile economies. Regionally balanced development. Religion, society, sports, culture and solidarity. 61 main promises of the election manifesto: 1. Family Card ‘Family Card’ launched to protect marginal and low-income families. 2. Farmers’ Card To ensure subsidies, easy loans, agricultural visas and fair prices for farmers. And corruption-free Sadhyaseva – To build a corruption-free and humane health system. 4. Kamasuddha Vijay Bedi values ​​and skill-based education-based education. 5. Developing sports as a profession and creating professional opportunities in sports. 6. Canal digging and tree plantation programs Initiatives to combat environment, climate and poverty. 7. Increasing the honorarium of religious worshippers – Ensuring religious welfare in state management. 8. Building a digital economy – Increasing technology-based economy and employment. 1. Combating corruption, establishing freedom of expression and good governance – Commitment to building an accountable and humane state. The priority programs announced by the Honorable Prime Minister to implement the election manifesto of the current government are: family card, canal digging, tree plantation, cars for women, farmer card, agricultural loan waiver, prevention of moral degradation, humanitarian and religious values, women’s empowerment, prevention of social degradation, combating rumors and misinformation, public health, nationwide employment, poverty alleviation and social security, education and human resource development, water resource planning and disaster management, power and energy sector development, tourism sector development, measles and dengue prevention, prevention of human trafficking, religious harmony, combating anti-government and anti-state propaganda, drug prevention, prevention of eve-teasing, prevention of child marriage, appropriate use of social media, environmental conservation, development of special needs communities, development of communication and transport sectors, restoration of moral strength, development of Haor-Baor youth, reform of the economy and financial establishment, and implementation of the Right to Information Act. Notable Steps Taken: The current government formed after the 13th National Parliament elections on February 12, 2026, has started taking rapid steps to implement the goals and objectives of its election manifesto. The government is in discussions with international development partners including the World Bank to implement the manifesto. The notable steps taken in light of the manifesto are highlighted below:- After the formal inauguration of the ‘Family Card’ program, 37,567 women from 14 upazilas were provided with family cards. Since then, they have been receiving a monthly allowance of Tk 2,500. This initiative has been taken to increase women’s empowerment in the family and strengthen the social safety net. There is a plan to bring a total of 41 million female family members of the country under this card in phases in the next 4 years. Activities are underway to distribute 4.1 million family cards in the fiscal year 2026-27. There are plans to start this program in Tengra Union of Rajnagar Upazila of Moulvibazar district and Mirzapur Union of Srimangal Upazila very soon. Canal Digging and Re-Dredging Program The government has adopted a master plan to dig and re-dredge 20,000 kilometers of canals across the country in the next 5 years. The aim of this initiative is to revive agriculture, ensure water conservation and combat the effects of global climate change. This year, 1,204 kilometers of canals will be dug and 1,500 kilometers of canals will be re-dredged by June 2026. Under this program, 53 canals will be dug across the country in phases, whiAhead of the holy Eid-ul-Fitr, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the program of providing monthly honorarium and festival allowance to the imams, muezzins and khadems of 4,908 mosques of the country and other religious leaders (priests, vicars, shebaits, church pastors) at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium on March 14, 2026. As part of the program, imams from each mosque are receiving a monthly honorarium of Tk 5,000, muezzins Tk 3,000 and khadems Tk 2,000, totaling Tk 10,000. The sevaks (priests/priests/vice-principals) of other places of worship (temples, Buddhist monasteries and churches) are receiving a monthly honorarium of Tk 5,000 and their assistants/shebaits Tk 3,000 each. Imams and muezzins of mosques are being given Tk 1,000 on Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, and a special festival allowance of Tk 2,000 is being given to other religious leaders (Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima, Christmas). This has been started as a pilot project, which will be expanded across the country in phases. Distribution of Farmers’ Cards and Waiver of Agricultural Loans On 14 April 2026, the Honorable Prime Minister officially inaugurated the ‘Farmers’ Card’ distribution program at Shaheed Maruf Stadium in Tangail on the Bengali New Year. Through this card, landless and small farmers will get 10 benefits – assistance of Tk 2,500 per year, fair-priced fertilizer, irrigation, agricultural loans, government subsidies and incentives, agricultural insurance, weather forecasting, modern agricultural machinery, market information and advice, and product sales. The Department of Agricultural Extension under the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing this program, which aims to bring the agricultural sector under the umbrella of modern technology. The government has planned to bring 27.5 million farmers of the country under this digital card in phases. In the initial phase, this program started with 22,065 farmers from 11 upazilas of 10 districts of the country. Following the inauguration by the Honorable Prime Minister, the Minister of Labor and Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Mr. Ariful Haque Chowdhury, inaugurated this program in the Fultala block of Juri upazila of Moulvibazar district. He handed over farmer cards to 819 farmers. 25,040 registered farmers of Moulvibazar district will be brought under this program in phases. As part of the election promise, the current government has already waived agricultural loans up to Tk 10,000. The amount of waived loans is Tk 1,550 crore. At least 1.2 million farmers will benefit from this. Healthcare A major plan has been taken to recruit 100,000 health workers to reach the doorsteps of the people. A target of 5% of GDP expenditure has been set for the health sector. 1.5 million MR doses of vaccine have arrived in the country on an emergency basis to combat the measles outbreak in Bangladesh and vaccination activities are underway as soon as possible. According to the information as of May 6, 2026, another 1.8 million vaccines will reach the country soon. More than 17.2 million children have already been vaccinated in the ongoing campaign across the country, which is 96 percent of the target. Addressing economic challenges The current government came to power with a legacy of numerous economic challenges. Among these, the main challenges are repaying debt, controlling high inflation, creating investment and new jobs, ensuring uninterrupted gas and electricity supply to boost the industrial sector, reducing loan interest rates, maintaining the value of the taka by increasing the supply of dollars, restoring discipline in market management, increasing revenue income, addressing challenges in the export market, restoring stability in the banking sector, and advancing ongoing reforms. In addition, it is noteworthy to take steps in favor of the people of the country through negotiations with the IMF. To address economic challenges, the government has already prioritized these issues and adopted an action plan. Since assuming power until April 2026, the current government has repaid a total of 90.66 million US dollars equivalent to loans. It has set a goal of developing Bangladesh into a 1 trillion (one lakh crore) dollar economy by 2034. The government is working towards establishing a balanced economic structure by democratizing the economy, inclusive growth and reducing dependence on a few businessmen or oligarchs. Initiatives have been taken to control inflation, attract foreign investment, revive the industrial sector and increase production and exports through the “Gadhashab Raha Idhahamshadhafbangya” program. New Bud Sports and Sports and Youth Development The current government has set up a modern sports platform across the country called ‘New Bud Sports’ to explore the latent talents of children and adolescents aged 12-14 from the grassroots level. Here, there is an opportunity to compete from the upazila to the national level in 8 popular events – football, cricket, kabaddi, athletics, badminton, chess, swimming and martial arts. Competitions will be held at 4 levels – upazila, district, regional and national levels. The selected talents will receive advanced training under skilled coaches and state recognition. The winning athletes will be provided with certificates, medals, trophies and financial benefits. After the Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman inaugurated this program on May 2, 2026 at the Sylhet District Stadium, the Honorable Member of Parliament from Moulvibazar-3 constituency Mr. M. Naser Rahman inaugurated this Moulvibazar district level program on the same day at the M. Saifur Rahman Stadium. From May 2 to May 10, this program was successfully completed with 1,360 athletes, managers and coaches from 7 upazilas and Moulvibazar Municipality teams of the district. 144 athletes aged 12-14 from each upazila participated in the 8 events. A central committee has been formed for the preservation and development of playgrounds across the country.
Views: 2
