Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday shared his plan to make Dhaka as clean as Tokyo, saying a cleaner environment, better waste management and reduced air pollution will help keep people healthy.
“If we can make Dhaka as clean as Tokyo, as clean as Japan, that will be a major achievement,” he said at an exchange of views with Bangladeshi expatriates at Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, organised by Bangladesh Community, Japan.
The Prime Minister said he has asked a member of his delegation how he found Tokyo, and the person replied that he did not see any rubbish on the streets. In contrast, he said, Dhaka has waste scattered in many places.
Tarique said the government is trying to make Dhaka and the rest of the country cleaner, noting that air pollution in the capital is a regular concern in news reports.
He said the government wants to improve air quality, filter polluted air where possible and plant trees in different areas.
“People will gradually fall sick if rubbish and waste keep accumulating everywhere. Germs and diseases can spread from accumulated waste. If we want to keep people healthy, we have to clean the environment and remove waste properly," the Prime Minister said.
He described making cities cleaner and ensuring a healthy environment for ordinary people as a major reform, saying such initiatives can directly improve people’s lives.
“What better reform can there be than ensuring that people can walk freely without being obstructed by waste, that they do not fall sick because of rubbish and that the country’s air is not polluted?” Tarique said.
He said he considers measures that will help children, women and other citizens remain healthy to be among the most important reforms.
Responding to questions from expatriates, Tarique also outlined plans concerning Japanese-language education, healthcare, children’s development through sports and other activities, easier business procedures, closed industries, investment and employment.
‘Attempts are being made to create a situation against the government’
The Prime Minister alleged that efforts are being made to create a situation in which the BNP government cannot implement reforms that will benefit people at the grassroots level.
Addressing Bangladeshis watching the programme in person and online, he said the reforms will benefit them and their children if the government can carry them out.
“Those who are trying to obstruct the government’s work - whom will you support? I am not asking you to vote. If you think we are trying to do the right things, at least support these initiatives so that we can implement them,” Tarique said.
The expatriates responded with loud applause.
The Prime Minister also criticised what he described as mockery and ridicule on social media of Md Tarek Rahman, general secretary of the Am Janata Dal, who is accompanying the delegation, saying little attention is being paid to many of the country’s real problems.
He said the reforms he wants to implement in education, healthcare and the environment are intended to benefit people across society, including rickshaw pullers, CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers, doctors, lawyers, employees, businesspeople and teachers.
Tarique said he is not suggesting that other proposed reforms will bring no benefits to the country or its people. However, he argued that some reforms might benefit only a limited number of people, while his priority is to ensure that ordinary and working people benefit directly.
“As a politician, I understand reform to mean changes whose benefits reach people at the grassroots level. There are different kinds of reform — some may benefit people in air-conditioned rooms, while others can make life better for working people,” he said.
The Prime Minister said improving the lives of working people is a priority because the government sought public support through elections.
He called for cooperation from expatriates and democratic-minded people across the country to build the Bangladesh they aspired to.
Tarique also stressed the need for hard work, patience, unity and collective efforts to achieve that goal, seeking the support and prayers of expatriate Bangladeshis.
The programme was moderated by BNP executive committee member Abdus Sattar Patwary.
Prime Minister’s wife Dr Zubaida Rahman, Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Finance and Planning Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Civil Aviation Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit, Invest Bangladesh Authority Chairman Ashik Chowdhury and other members of the delegation were present.
At the programme, Japan BNP presented the Prime Minister and Dr Zubaida Rahman with photographs as gifts.
