Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday announced a series of benefits including higher monthly salaries, increased retirement benefits, mobile phone allowances and more frequent bicycle supplies for members of the Village Police Force (Gram Police Force).

Addressing the national gathering of village police members at the National Parade Ground in Tejgaon, he also announced that two more women would be recruited as village police members in every union to strengthen women's empowerment and employment.

The Prime Minister said the monthly salary of a village police member has been raised from Tk 7,500 to Tk 10,500, while that of a village police chief has been increased from Tk 8,000 to Tk 11,000.

He also announced an increase in retirement gratuity.

The amount for a village police member has been raised from Tk 70,000 to Tk 80,000, while that for a village police chief has been increased from Tk 80,000 to Tk 1 lakh.

Besides, each village police member will receive Tk 150 per month to cover mobile phone expenses. The weekly allowance for attending the local police station has been raised from Tk 300 to Tk 500 for members and from Tk 300 to Tk 600 for village police chief.

Tarique also announced six months of maternity leave for women village police members.

He said the government changed the professional designations of village police, replacing ‘Dafadar’ with ‘Gram Police Chief’ and ‘Mahalladar’ with ‘Gram Police’.

The Prime Minister said the government was taking these steps to improve the living standards of villages police members and their families, recognising their contribution to maintaining security at the grassroots level.

He recalled that the government of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had introduced Eid bonuses for gram police members in 1995.

Tarique also announced plans to name one road in every union as 'Gram Police Road'.

Trees will be planted along these roads, and once the grass grown there is ready for sale, the proceeds will be distributed among the village police members of the respective unions.

He also instructed the Local Government Ministry to consider reducing the interval for providing bicycles to gram police members from five years to three to three-and-a-half years.

The Prime Minister urged the village police members to play a more active role in ensuring public safety in their respective unions, saying they often receive early information about local incidents, criminal activities and possible threats because of their close links with the community.

He said they could play an important role by maintaining regular contact with local administration and law enforcement agencies and promptly sharing information about any emerging situation.

“If every village and every union in the country remains safe, Bangladesh will remain safe,” the Prime Minister said.

Tarique said most of the country's people had their roots in rural life and that the country's history, heritage, culture and economy were closely linked to villages. “Ensuring peace, security and normal life in rural communities was therefore essential to building a developed and prosperous Bangladesh.”

He said restoring social values, harmony, mutual respect and compassion was also important to reducing crimes, alongside the active role of law enforcement agencies.

The Prime Minister urged the village police members to discharge their duties impartially and in a people-friendly manner, stressing the need for coordination among local administration, responsible gram police and conscious citizens.

He also appreciated their role in responding to natural disasters, floods, cyclones, fires and other emergencies in coordination with the local administration.

Tarique asked them to help keep their surroundings, including homes, markets, roads and canal banks, clean and free from waste.

He also encouraged them to plant trees and motivate others to do so to ensure a greener and cleaner environment for future generations.

The Prime Minister handed over crests and prize money to eight outstanding gram police members, one from each of the country's eight divisions.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam and Senior Secretary of the Local Government Division Md Shahidul Hasan also addressed the gathering.

Dr Zubaida Rahman, the Prime Minister's spouse and vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, cabinet members, MPs, the army chief, the air chief, senior government officials were present.

Around 41,000 village police members from different districts and upazilas across the country joined the gathering, drawing a massive gathering at the National Parade Ground.