President Abdul Hamid on Thursday called upon the people of the country to work more unitedly to eliminate corruption, terrorism, drugs and militancy.

The President came up with the call in his speech in the 21st session of the current Parliament that began on Thursday.

He said Bangladesh achieved independence through a bloody war under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In this independent sovereign country, the people are the source of all power and the center of all their hopes is great National Parliament.

"You are the people's representatives, so public interest should be placed above everything else. It is our sacred duty to gift a safe, happy, beautiful and prosperous Bangladesh to the new generation," he said.

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The President said that the spirit of the Liberation War and the ideals of the Father of the Nation should be adopted to speed up the development of the country.

He termed Padma Bridge as a symbol of Bangladesh's ability and pride as it was built with its own funding and inaugurated on June 25, 2022.

"More than 3 crore people of the country will benefit directly from it. The construction of the southern tube of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman multi-lane tunnel under the Karnaphuli river has been completed,” he said.

He also said he is hopeful that soon the tunnel will be opened for public use.

President Hamid also congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for launch of the first metro train from Uttara to Agargaon.

Referring the year 2022 as the year of challenges, President Hamid said that the nation and the entire world is going through a difficult time.

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"We were able to successfully deal with the Corona pandemic and maintain economic progress but the war between Russia and Ukraine has slowed down our progress," he said.

Hamid said amid the global economic crisis currently the amount of food grain stock in the country is 16.14 lakh metric tons, which is satisfactory.

The President said that pension will be introduced for all citizens above the age of 60 from the fiscal year 2022-23.