Govt trying to restore glory of jute: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government was making constant efforts to restore the lost glory of jute, reclaiming its repute of being the country's "golden fibre".

"We want to restore the lost glory of jute as we want to flourish our local products," she told the opening of the country's maiden National Jute Day celebrations in line with her last year's announcement.

She added works were underway for modernisation and diversification of jute products to reclaim the lost glory of the fibre which "once jute was the only foreign exchange earning sector of Bangladesh".

The premier said the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 halted for a long time the country's progress upsetting the status of jute as well, but after returning to power, her government took steps for establishing the glory of jute again.

Textiles and Jute Ministry organised a Diversified Jute Goods Fair coinciding with the National Jute Day 2017 while Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu joined as the special guest of the function at the Krishibid Institution auditorium in the capital.

State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md Imaj Uddin Pramanik chaired the function while State Minister Mirza Azam and chairman of parliamentary standing committee on Textiles and Jute Ministry Saber Hossain Chowdhury also spoke and the ministry's acting secretary Gopal Krishna Bhattachariya gave the welcome address.

The prime minister distributed crests and certificates among ten individuals who have contributed to promote the jute sector alongside winners of a divisional level essay writing competition for students coinciding with the day.

The premier recalled that Bangabandhu as the minister of industries and commerce in 1956 had established the jute marketing corporation for promotion of jute export and research.

She said after independence, Bangabandhu nationalised the jute mills abandoned by the West Pakistani owners and rehabilitated them with "mother's care". But, she said, the post 1975 governments in the name of privatisation sold out the factories at a very nominal price to a vested quarter, who amassed wealth by selling the land, machinery and others assets of those factories.

"The vested quarter even had taken loan from the government for opening of the mills. But, instead of resuming production they spent money for luxury and built their personal property abroad, exposing thousands of workers to poverty," the premier said.

Sheikh Hasina said no government except Awami League agreed to give fair price of jute to farmers, which earlier forced many of them to abandon jute cultivation.

"The reality is that the Awami League government has ensured fair price for jute farmers as part of the commitment which we gave them in the eighties and nineties," she said.

Sheikh Hasina lamented that after coming to power in 1991 BNP had signed agreement with the World Bank for closing down all jute mills simultaneously.

On the other hand, she said the WB simultaneously signed agreement with India for financing for revival of their sick jute sector.