Coronavirus Crisis BNP asks government to adopt Tk 87,000cr package
Opposition BNP on Saturday proposed to the government to adopt a Tk 87,000 crore incentive package to tackle the economic crisis caused by coronavirus infection scare and help the people who lost work and became needy.
The proposal was made by BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a press conference at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office in the capital.
He proposed the allocation of Tk 61,000 crore to implement a short-term plan, Tk 18,000 crore to implement a mid-term plan and setting aside Tk 8,000 crore to meet unforeseen needs to take the country to the pre-corona situation.
He said that BNP was ready to participate in any constructive initiative for the welfare of the countrymen and tackling the current crisis.
He said that the government would have to take the initiative to re-unite the nation by shunning arrogance and the path of political vengeance.
He said that his party believed that by forging national unity, Bangladesh would be able to overcome the great crisis.
Fakhrul appealed to the philanthropists and the wealthy to come forward to provide food to the countless people, rendered jobless by the nationwide shut down caused by corona virus infection scare.
He said that the BNP leaders and activists were working across the country to create awareness to main social distancing to ward off corona virus infection and that they were also providing food to the needy.
Fakhrul said that the BNP would place its proposal to the government.
He said that the whole healthcare system had virtually collapsed and urged the government to provide the testing kits and personal protective equipment to the doctors, the nurses and the other medical staff involved with the detection of the coronavirus infected and the treatment of the infected patients.
He said that the country entered the third stage of coronavirus infection after community infection began at a few areas.
For short-term initiative, the BNP leader proposed to allocate at least Tk 8,000 crore to those living on hand to mouth for providing food for three months and Tk 10,000 crore for workers of informal sector for six months and the money should be distributed through the army with help from the local administration, Tk 10,000 for workers of formal sectors like the readymade garment industry and the other export oriented industries and the money should be provided through banks.
He also proposed to allocate Tk 5,000 to subsidize seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and irrigation to ensure uninterrupted food production.
Fakhrul demanded exempting the installments and the interest on loans extended to farmers and poultry farms, all micro credits extended by the government and the NGOs for one year.
He proposed to allocate Tk 1,000 crore for giving financial assistance for at least three months to the migrant workers who were compelled to come back empty handed so that they could go back to work in their destination countries after the crisis was over.
He proposed to allocate Tk 15,000 crore for health sector and the institutions directly involved in coronavirus treatment, Tk 2,000 crore for the elderly women and the widows, physically challenged and people over 60 years for three months.
BNP requested the government to insure doctors, the nurses and the medical staff involved with corona infection treatment.
Fakhrul demanded life insurance policies worth Tk one crore for each doctor, Tk 75 lakh for each nurse and Tk 50 lakh for each medical staff directly involved with the treatment of coronavirus infected patients.
He urged the government to provide free of cost cooking gas to the people below the poverty line for three months, Tk 5,000 each of those who became jobless after leaving the capital for their village homes due to announcement of public holidays as they had no work there.
He proposed to form an Economic Taskforce comprising of country’s noted economists to overcome the crisis.
For treatment of coronavirus patients, he proposed dedicated hospitals, quarantine and isolation centres with adequate trained manpower, the import and production of coronavirus testing kit, installation of intensive care units within shortest possible time and, if needed, transforming community centres, convention halls and empty big residential hotels to temporary hospitals.
For mid-term initiatives, he demanded to cerate a Tk 10,000 crore fund by Bangladesh Bank to re-finance in small and medium industries that produce goods for using in the country, Tk 5,000 crore for buying food grains directly from farmers for stocking as it is not sure whether the food exporting countries would export food items during the time of Bangladesh’s need and Tk 3,000 crore for supporting self-employed and start-up ones.
He urged the government to collect money by contacting international bilateral organisations including World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and International Monetary Fund, discussing with the governments of the countries where Bangladeshi expatriates work so that the expatriates were not paid-off, suspending deposition of money for provident fund and gratuity of government employees and keeping proper market system and production and supply chain intact.
For long-term initiatives, he stressed the need for bringing discipline in collapsed and undisciplined financial and banking sector, easy-term financial support to expatriates who were compelled to come back to the country so that they could be self-employed and bringing the healthcare system to a high scale where the sector can remain ready to tackle any war-like situation and allocating five percent of GDP in health sector to ensure universal healthcare in the country.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
