‘Don’t hoard anything’
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged all not to hoard food grain and other essential items out of panic as the country has enough stock of everything.
"Some people are scared... they are buying food items indiscriminately and piling up stocks at their homes... I want to clearly say that we have no food problem," she said.
Hasina, also the Awami League president, was speaking to journalists yesterday morning after casting her vote in the Jatiya Sangsad by-polls to Dhaka-10 at the Dhaka City College polling centre.
She said there was about 17 lakh tonnes of food grain in government silos alone. The amount of wheat is 3.5 lakh tonnes and the private rice millers have a huge stock in addition to that of big farmers.
"Farmers are producing their crops... plenty of vegetables are being produced in the fields...we have a huge salt production, too. So, please don't get panicked... just collect whatever you need. The prices may go up if you put pressure on the market," the PM added.
About the foreign currency reserve, Hasina said she had a meeting with the finance minister, her finance adviser and the Bangladesh Bank governor. "With our current reserve, we can procure food for the next one year. So there is no need to be panicked."
She asked those who have returned from abroad recently to strictly follow the health rules and the 14-day quarantine procedure. "Please don't go here and there...you shouldn't put others' lives in danger."
Mentioning that an unusual situation was prevailing across the world due to the coronavirus outbreak, Hasina said this virus has spread to 181 countries.
"We took all-out measurers when it was seen in China... we checked all people whoever came from abroad; we put them in quarantine in case of any suspicion."
Briefly describing various measures taken by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus, the PM said, "We have taken safety measures for doctors, nurses and others who are working there. We are collecting whatever is needed from home and abroad. We also provided security materials for the immigration police."
Hasina said the government has suspended all the programmes of the birth centenary celebration of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman due to coronavirus. "We have to stop mass gatherings so that this virus cannot spread."
She said the government has planned to cancel the programmes marking the upcoming Independence Day.
The PM cast her vote by using an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at 9:10am. Her daughter Saima Wazed Hossain was present.
The JS by-elections to Dhaka-10, Gaibandha-3 and Bagerhat-4 was held yesterday.
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