Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stated today that serving the people’s needs is the public representatives’ primary responsibility, and she urged them to do so in order to secure future elections.
“You are elected by the people. So, if you serve the people, then there is no worry about your future vote. People will trust you and keep faith on you. So, pay special attention to public service,” she said.
In Shapla Hall of her office here, the premier made these remarks during the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected mayors of two city corporations, Cumilla and Mymensingh, chairmen of five Zila Parishads, and council members of Mymensingh City Corporation.
In addition, she gave the public representatives of the local government organizations instructions to work sincerely and for the benefit of the populace.
She said, “Don’t lose trust and confidence of the people in any way. So, work for the people properly standing by them.”
Sheikh Hasina said her government made development of every area in the country and the grassroots people are in the focus of the development works.
“Every village would be transformed into a township. A radical change has already been made there, which you can see,” she said.
The head of state also requested the representatives of the people to work for the people and uphold the current development trend by honoring the commitments they made to the people.
In 2026, she said, Bangladesh would be officially classified as a developing nation.
“In this context, I’m urging you to stand beside the people with sincerity, serve them and work for them to continue the current trend of their socio-economic development,” she said.
Earlier, the premier administered oath to the first female mayor-elect of Cumilla city corporation Tahsin Bahar Suchona and mayor-elect of Mymensingh City Corporation Ekramul Haque Titu.
She also administered oath to the newly elected chairmen of five Zila Parishads — Kurigram, Thakurgaon, Sirajganj, Brahmanbaria and Habiganj – at the same function.
The five chairman of Zila Parishads are ANM Obaidur Rahman of Kurigram, Abdul Majid of Thakurgaon, Shamim Talukder of Sirajganj, Billal Miah of Brahmanbaria and Aleya Akhter of Habiganj.
Later, some 44 newly elected councillors of general wards and female councillors of the reserved seats of Mymensingh City Corporation also took oath at the same venue.
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam administered the oath of the councillors.
Local Government Division Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim conducted the oath-taking ceremony.
Cumilla City Corporation has got the first female mayor as Tahsin Bahar Suchona, daughter of Cumilla-6 lawmaker AKM Bahauddin Bahar, won the by-election to the city corporation on March 9 last.
Ekramul Haque Titu was elected mayor in the Mymensingh city corporation election held on the same day.
Regarding the community clinics, the prime minister stated that the government offers thirty different kinds of medication at no cost to rural residents, especially mothers and children who visit the clinics.
She noted that in order for the public to properly get healthcare services from community clinics, public leaders need to pay attention.
The premier encouraged them to encourage people to expand food production and to educate the public about the importance of being frugal with their use of electricity and water.
Talking about climate change, she called on the public representatives to conserve water bodies – rivers, canals, beels and ponds.
She also directed them to ensure waste management system in their respective areas in a bid to protect environment.
Sheikh Hasina also urged vigilance in order to protect the next generation from drug use, terrorism, militancy, and corruption.
According to her, her government increased the budgetary allocation for the local government sector eight times, from the current Taka 46,704 crore to the mere Taka 5,799.36 crore during the BNP’s dictatorship in the 2006–07 fiscal year.
She said that improvements had been made in every area and that the communication system had greatly improved.
“So, you (public representatives) should work to continue the development trend of communication system and to maintain standard of the works,” she said.
