BNP spreading propaganda about uranium in haor water

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday accused the BNP of spreading propaganda about the existence of uranium in floodwater of haor areas.

“Fishes and other aquatic animals usually die when any area is affected by flood or tidal surges. We're collecting information why fishes and aquatic animals are dying in haor areas. But there are some people who are habituated to spreading propaganda on any issue,” she said.

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The PM was speaking at a meeting of the Awami League nomination board on local government elections at the Gono Bhaban in the evening.

Hasina, also the AL chief, said the BNP was spreading propaganda that fishes and other aquatic animals were dying in flashflood-hit haor areas due to uranium from India.

Experts of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission said they didn't find uranium in the haor water. Despite that, the BNP was spreading propaganda from press conferences, she added.

“I would ask them [BNP] to come up with proof... it's a scientific issue and it will have to be proved scientifically.”

The PM said embankments in haors cracked due to heavy rain and flashflood.

“We didn't see such a bad condition after forming government in 2009, but natural calamities can occur any time,” she told the meeting.

She said the disaster management and relief ministry and its all departments as well as the local administrations were very active in supporting the flood-hit people.

The government allocated 30kg foodgrain and Tk500 for each of the affected families every day, the PM added.

'NO DEAL WITH HEFAJAT'

Hasina said the government didn't ink any deal with Hefajat-e Islam. “There is no question of signing any agreement with Hefajat.”

The government gave recognition to Qawmi madrasa education to make the country's education system inclusive and integrate the 14 lakh Qawmi madrasa students into the “mainstream of education”, said the PM.

The government, she said, was working on making an appropriate syllabus for Qawmi madrasa education through coordination of six education boards.

The education boards of Qawmi madrasas followed different syllabuses and nobody looked at what education the students were receiving, Hasina added.

She said 14 lakh students were studying in 75,000 madrasas. “But nobody says what they are learning.... They are learning Arabic, Urdu and Persian, while some madrasas are teaching computer science to them.”

About local government, she said the government took initiatives to strengthen democracy at the grassroots level. Besides, it implemented many programmes to take government services to people's doorsteps.

On the special provision of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, she said the provision was kept considering the reality of the country. Such a provision is there in the USA, the UK and Australia, the premier added.

Hasina highlighted her government's success in the country's socioeconomic development. She said the government was preparing the next national budget to strengthen the rural economy.