‘We’ll eat one meal a day for distressed Rohingyas, if necess ary’: PM

Highlighting her government’s steps to provide shelter, food and medicare for distressed Rohingya people, prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said the countrymen will eat one meal a day and share another meal with them, if necessary.
‘If we could feed 16 crore people, we can also feed additional five to seven lakh people at their time of distress ... if necessary, we’ll eat one meal a day and share another meal with these distressed people,’ she said while exchanging views with her party leaders from different states of the United States at Ritz Carlton Hotel on Sunday evening.
She added: ‘After all we are human being and we stand for mankind.’
PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.
‘Though we’re not that rich but we’ve the heart ... they are human beings, and we can’t throw out them into the Bay of Bengal,’ the premier said.
Sheikh Hasina who visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar before flying to New York to attend the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly narrated the horrifying stories she heard from the fleeing women and children from the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
The premier said the hapless Rohingya people who fled to Bangladesh will be shifted to an island called ‘Bhasan Char’ from Cox’s Bazar.
She said the civil administration, army, navy and air force, BGB, police and her party volunteers are working hard to mitigate the sufferings of these people.
‘Without waiting for any external assistance, we’ve made arrangement for accommodation, food and medicine,’ she said, adding that she had already given Tk five crore as initial funding in this regard.
Sheikh Hasina said the international community was amazed to see the generosity of accepting such huge number of people by the Bangladesh government.
Referring to her pledge to stamp out terrorism and extremism, the prime minister said her government has launched a vigorous campaign against terrorism, militancy and abuse of drugs.
‘The law enforcers and intelligence agencies of Bangladesh are working in close cooperation to eradicate these menaces,’ she said. 
Moreover, she said, she held video conferences to motivate parents, teachers, imams of mosques and people from different walks of life to teach and motivate the young generation so they stay away from this wrong path.
‘People have now become conscious against terrorism, extremism and drugs,’ she said.
To encourage education at the grassroots, the premier said financial incentives are being given to one crore 30 lakh mothers of primary students to continue their education.
‘The government is also providing scholarship to students for higher education,’ she said. The government, she said, is establishing 100 economic zones wherein expatriate Bangladeshis can make investment. 
Later, the prime minister unveiled a bust of the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC through videoconferencing from her place of residence.
Famous sculptor Stephen Weitzman built the bust made of bronze.
Bangladesh ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin and officials of the embassy were present. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net