Play up govt’s feats ahead of nat’l polls
Deputy commissioners have been asked to highlight the government's development works ahead of the next national election.
"To tackle criticism of the government, we're asked to do more publicity of the government's development works," said a deputy commissioner preferring to remain unnamed.
"Though no specific talks on the election had taken place, there was an underlying hint in the ministers' messages," said the official.
The next general election is scheduled to be held by early January next year.
After a session of the DC conference, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said the DCs were asked to play due role in holding a free and fair election.
He also mentioned that the ministries would carry out routine work after the announcement of the election schedule.
The instruction came on the concluding day of the three-day DC conference organised at the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
This correspondent talked to several DCs to know about instructions they got from the conference.
"Development issues were at the core of the discussions. Some regular demands and proposals were placed at the conference," said a deputy commissioner.
Besides, issues of agriculture, austerity measures and discipline on roads were discussed prominently at the conference, he added.
The DCs proposed modernising the Department of Agriculture Marketing so that farmers can get fair prices of their products and reduce the use of fertiliser without hampering production.
They also recommended setting up cold storages at public or private expenses.
"The agriculture ministry agreed with our proposals," said a DC.
At the inauguration of the conference, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued a 24-point directive to the DCs, including ensuring hassle-free services at public offices and removing corruption from the ongoing development programmes.
On the other hand, the DCs made 245 proposals on different sectors.
Officials said though the conference inspired them, they were dissatisfied with the tight schedule.
"It was a great opportunity to talk to the ministers of all ministries and know their visions. But there were issues that needed to be discussed at length," said an official.
"It was a kind of one-sided discussion. It would have been more fruitful if the conference was more interactive," said a deputy commissioner.
A total of 26 sessions, including 20 working ones, were held in the three days. During this period, the DCs met the prime minister, president, Speaker, chief justice, and the high-ups of different divisions and ministries.
"It [conference] was very hectic. We had to go through a very tight schedule," said another deputy commissioner.
At the evening session with Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain on the last day of the conference on Thursday, DCs requested for extending the conference time by two more days in future.
Sources said the secretary said they would consider it.
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