Prime Minister Tareque Rahman has urged Bangladeshis to work together to keep the country clean and beautiful and ensure a healthy nation and environment for future generations. He made the appeal in a video posted on his verified Facebook page Monday morning. “A clean environment affects people in every class and profession,” he said. “Compared with 30 or 40 years ago, plastic bottles, snack packets, used tissues and other waste are now scattered at an alarming rate on roads and in markets in Dhaka, districts, upazilas and villages.”
Emphasizing proper waste disposal, Rahman said: “Most people in Bangladesh walk or travel by bus. When they cross roads, accumulated garbage creates hardship and foul odors. If we are all a little more aware, place our waste in designated locations instead of throwing it anywhere, and later dispose of it properly, we can protect our environment and keep it beautiful.”
Drawing a comparison with keeping a home clean, he said: “Imagine if garbage were scattered throughout the room or home where you live. Would you like seeing that? Certainly not. None of us would. A poet beautifully wrote, ‘Green and fertile is my world.’ Why, then, can we not make our environment beautiful?”
Referring to recent visits around the country, Rahman said: “Over the past few months, I have passed ponds and seen piles of different kinds of waste in the water or along the banks. Yet these were once places where people sat and talked with their families.”
“When we visit, cleaners may have tidied the place, but after we leave it does not remain as clean,” he said. “If you leave a place clean, the next person can also enjoy that pleasant environment.”
Rahman said greater awareness could gradually make Bangladesh free of litter. “If each of us begins today to place our waste neatly in designated locations, we can gradually create a beautiful environment,” he said.
Calling for collective effort, he added: “The country belongs to all of us. If we work together, we can achieve something significant. Dear fellow citizens, this is the cooperation I ask of you today.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report