Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Thursday her government was making all-out efforts to restore the lost glory of jute, reclaiming its repute of being the country’s “golden fibre”, reports BSS. “We want to restore the lost glory of jute as we want to flourish our local products,” she told the opening of the country’s maiden National Jute Day celebrations in line with her last year’s announcement. She added works were underway for modernisation and diversification of jute products to reclaim the lost glory of the fibre which “once jute was the only foreign exchange earning sector of Bangladesh”. The premier said the 1975 assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman halted for a long time the country’s progress upsetting the status of jute as well but after returning to power, her government took stapes for establish the glory of jute again. Textiles and Jute Ministry organised a Diversified Jute Goods Fair coinciding with the National Jute Day 2017 while Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu joined as the special guest the function at the Krishibid Institution auditorium in the capital. State minister for textiles and jute Md Imaj Uddin Pramanik chaired the function while state minister Mirza Azam and chairman of parliamentary standing committee on Textiles and Jute Ministry Saber Hossain Chowdhury also spoke while the ministry’s acting secretary Gopal Krishna Bhattachariya gave the welcome address. The Prime Minister distributed crests and certificates among ten individuals for contribution to promote the jute sector alongside winners of a divisional level essay writing competition for students. The premier recalled that Bangabandhu as the minister of industries and commerce in 1956 had established the jute marketing corporation for promotion of jute export and research. She said after independence, Bangabandhu nationalised the jute mills abandoned by the west Pakistani owners and rehabilitated them with “mothers care”. But, she said, the post 1975 governments in the name of privatisation sold out the factories at a very nominal price to a vested quarter, who amassed wealth by selling the land, machinery and others assets of those factories. “The vested quarter even had taken loan from the government for opening of the mills. But, instead of resuming production they spent money for luxury and build their personal property abroad, exposing thousands of workers to poverty,” the premier said. Sheikh Hasina said no government except Awami League agreed to give fair price of jute to farmers, which earlier forced many of them to abandon jute cultivation. “The reality is that the Awami League government has ensured fair price for jute farmers as part of the commitment which we gave them in eighties and nineties,” she said. Sheikh Hasina lamented that after coming to power in 1991 BNP had signed agreement with the World Bank for closing down all jute mills simultaneously. On the other hand, she said the WB simultaneously signed agreement with India for financing for revival of their sick jute sector. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said jute was the main foreign exchange earning sector of Bangladesh during pre-independence period. But, Bangladeshi people could not enjoy its benefit as the West Pakistan rulers took away the large portion of that income which came vividly in the historic six-point demand of Bangabandhu in 1966. “It might the main reason of the agony of the anti-liberation force on jute,” she added saying out of that distress the anti-liberation forces which was in the helm of the state power after 1975, always tried to destroy the jute sector. And, their vengeance led to close and sell out the land of the country’s largest Adamjee Jute Mills which was not only a jute mill but grew up as a city, giving shelter and food to around 10 million people. Bangabandhu established the many institutes for research and training on jute to carry out research train up farmers aimed at boosting production, diversification of jute goods and increase export, the Prime Minister said. Pointing out the steps taken by her government for development of jute sector Sheikh Hasina said the golden days of jute sector have come back again. As an agricultural product, lives of thousands of farmers of our country are dependent on the produce and the natural fibre is also playing a big role in environmental protection, she said. Sheikh Hasina said her government has already made many jute mills operational. Some factories were handed over to the workers to run under their ownership. After coming to power in 2009, about 21,000 jute mill workers found their jobs in the jute mills after resuming operation, she said.
