Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said December is the month of Bangladesh’s victory and no “evil force” will be allowed to create any kind of instability in the country during the month.
“December is our month of victory; no evil force will be able to create any kind of instability in the country during this month,” the minister said at a press briefing after unveiling the foundation plaque for the construction of a new headquarters of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) in Tejgaon area of the capital in the morning.
He also said there has been no formal decision to launch any joint operation in the country.
Coordinated activities by the police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Special Response Battalion (SRB) and Ansar are part of a regular process to combat terrorism, extortion and drugs and such efforts will be further strengthened in the future, said the minister.
About the new Ansar headquarters, the minister said a long-standing aspiration of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP to have its own headquarters at a well-planned and suitable location is going to be fulfilled.
He said the Public Works Ministry has allocated 3.428 acres or around 11 bighas, of land for the construction of the Ansar headquarters.
A modern and large-scale infrastructure will be built there to address the shortage of space at the existing Ansar headquarters in Khilgaon and overcome transportation-related limitations, he said.
The minister said Bangladesh currently has around 20,000 battalion Ansars and 60,000 embodied Ansars. Besides, around 60 lakh trained manpower are working under 35,000 VDP team leaders.
“Considering both regular and irregular members, it is the largest force in the country,” he said.
He said additional facilities are being created in Ashulia and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka to address accommodation problems of Ansar members assigned to central duties, including dormitories and barracks.
The home minister praised the contribution of the Ansar force during the July uprising and various national crises, as well as in maintaining law and order.
He also reiterated the government’s commitment to gradually meeting their financial and other demands.
Regarding various law enforcement agencies, Salahuddin said if evidence of negligence of duty or involvement in criminal activities is found against anyone, the person is not merely withdrawn from duty; appropriate departmental legal action is also taken and criminal cases will be filed.
On traffic management in Dhaka, the minister said automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been introduced to improve the system.
The technology is enabling cases to be processed automatically and helping restore discipline in vehicular movement on the roads, he said.
He also said instructions have been given to avoid digging entire roads at once for construction and utility works.
Instead, work should be completed in sections and the roads immediately reconstructed to prevent traffic congestion, he added.
Senior Home Secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury and senior officials of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP were present at the press briefing.