Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said her government is doing its best to control the prices of daily essentials in the country amid the high global inflation rate.

“We’ve been trying our best to keep the prices of essentials under control,” she said while inaugurating 40 new fire stations in different places of the county.

The prime minister also directed the authorities concerned to take proper actions against the hoarders of essential items and those who play with their prices.

She made the directive while inaugurating 40 new fire stations constructed in different places of the country.

She joined the inaugural function at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters in the city’s Fulbaria through a videoconference from her official residence Ganobhaban.

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Hasina said the coronavirus pandemic has caused economic recession throughout the world, deepened by the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

There is a food crisis even in many developed countries and the inflation rate went up to 17 per cent in some places. The inflation rate is 7-9 per cent in many European countries, she added.

Noting the difficulties to import some goods due to the ongoing war, the prime minister asked the people not to keep an inch of land uncultivated and ensure the optimum use of the soil for food autarky.

Ensure fire-fighting facilities in project:

Sheikh Hasina asked the authorities of development works --architects, engineers or project planners of different ministries-- to keep the provision of fire-fighting facilities in every development project.  

She called for ensuring wide roads for smooth movement of fire service vehicles and water sources at nearby places.

“During designing a project, everyone has to keep one thing in mind that it’ll have to ensure modern fire extinguishing systems in the institutions and the availability of water for firefighting,” she said.

The PM also asked to protect water bodies and conserve rainwater in the project sites or multistoried structures.

Noting that there is the capacity to fight fire in the highest 20-storey structure here in the country, she said some might have plans to construct 30-storey buildings or 40-storey buildings or even 100-storey skyscrapers.

In this regard, she asked them to consider the firefighting capacity before taking any plan for construction of the high-rise buildings.

Hasina said the fire extinguishing system will have to be kept in every building – offices, courts, schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutes, shopping malls, entertainment centers, cinema halls, different factories and mills.

She asked the fire service department to ensure training and rehearsal over fire extinguishing systems and on what to do in case of fire in educational institutes and mills and factories.

The PM said even launch catches fire here, but there is not enough fire extinguishing scope in such a large water vessel. “The matter should be taken care of,” she said.

She stressed the need for keeping open balconies in the multistoried buildings, where a large number of people stay in, for sake of rescuing residents in case of fire.

Hasina said the government had taken the decision to set up a fire service station in every upazila. “We’re building fire stations even in very remote places,” she said.

Mentioning that there are now 456 fire stations in the country, she referred to the opening today’s 40 more fire stations at 39 upazilas in 25 districts under five divisions.

She said the construction of 55 more fire stations would be completed by June next.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Secretary of Security Services Division Md Mokabbir Hossain and Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence Department Major General Md Sazzad Hussain spoke at the function.