Chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Thursday said that there will be a list of money wastage in the name of Mujib Year celebration marking the birth centenary of the country鈥檚 founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
鈥楬ow much money has been spent in the sectors of every ministry will be taken into account. Even private companies have been forced to pay for Mojib Year celebration,鈥� Alam said in a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy.
He said that the decision was taken in the weekly meeting of the interim government鈥檚 advisory council at the office of the chief adviser at Tejgaon in Dhaka.聽
In the press conference, referring to a report of the daily Kaler Kantho , Alam also said that the ousted Awami League government spent about Tk聽4000 crore to make sculptures of Sheikh Mujib during the Mujib Year celebration.
Just before the inauguration of the Padma Bridge in 2022, murals of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina were hastily installed at both ends of the bridge spending about Tk聽117 crore.
The report also mentioned that Tk聽55 crore was allocated for the 鈥楤angabandhu Chattar鈥�, including a 71-foot-high sculpture of Sheikh Mujib in the 300-foot area of 鈥嬧�婸urbachal New Town in the capital.
The sculpture was built from China for Dolaipar and brought to the country, it said, adding that the sculpture cost Tk聽9 crore. But due to objections from Islamic parties, it could not be installed.
鈥楾he cost of celebrating Mujib Year should be assessed as the money was spent from tax payers鈥� money,鈥� Alam added.
He also said that the advisory council also decided to update the list of essential drugs in Bangladesh.
Alam said that essential drugs is a very important issue all over the world and that is why they discussed how the list of essential drugs can be extended to give protection to the poor people who are being affected due to high price of medicines.
A taskforce will be formed soon in this regard and it will sit with all stakeholders concerned, he added.
He also said that the council of advisers discussed the draft of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Use (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024 and decided to form a high-power committee, headed by finance adviser Saleh Uddin Ahmed.
Citing estimates that about 35 per cent people of the country smoke tobacco, the press secretary said smoking of tobacco causes harm to public health and, at the same time, a big portion of revenue comes from tobacco sector.
Considering all aspects, the committee will consider the tobacco control law afresh, he said.
Chief adviser鈥簊 deputy press secretaries Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Apurba Jahangir were present at the press briefing.
