FF allowance to be raised to Tk. 20,000

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday announced that the minimum monthly allowances of valiant freedom fighters will be Tk 20,000 rising from the existing Tk12,000.

The prime minister made the announcement while inaugurating the transfer of allowances to 168,000 valiant freedom fighters and their families through electronic fund transfer system from the Bangladesh Bank every month using the management information system (MIS).

Held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium, Sheikh Hasina joined the program from her official residence Gonobhaban.

"Now, I think, Tk 12,000 is nothing. There’re many slots at the bottom of the freedom fighters' list. We will increase the amount to Tk20,000 bringing the lower slots of the list in one place," she said.

But to make it happen, it will require some time as the government also needs time to allocate money for this purpose in the national budget, Hasina said adding, "But, we will surely do it.”

Laying emphasis on preserving the memories of the war of liberation and martyrs, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said generation after generation should know the country’s real history, evolution and achievement.

“Bangladesh is now an independent nation which once upon a time was a deprived, exploited and repressed nation. But, it has stood up with high head before the world and generation to generation should know how we got this achievement,” she said.

She said the government has taken initiatives to construct museums and preserve evidence and memories of the war of liberation so people could know the real history visiting these places.

“We want the next generation to see and know the evidence and memories of the war of liberation, and the government is tirelessly working to this end,” she added. Liberation war affairs minister A K M Mozammel Haque and secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh also spoke on the occasion.

Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Secretary Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah moderated the event.

Later, freedom fighters from Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur district, Fulbari upazila of Kurigram district, Paikegachha upazila of Khunla district, Haimchar upazila of Chandpur district and Borolekha upazila of Moulavibazar district were connected, and expressed their feelings and gratitude.

Not a single freedom fighter will remain homeless, says the prime minister