PM Calls for Collective Efforts to Keep Country Clean for Future Generations

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said keeping Bangladesh neat and clean is the shared civic responsibility of all, when even a small individual effort can help ensure a healthy environment for future generations. 

“The country belongs to all of us... if each of us does a little, we can achieve something big,” he said in a video message on his verified Facebook page this morning. 

The Prime Minister said, “Let us all work together to keep our country clean and beautiful. This will ensure a healthy country and a healthy environment for our future generations.”  

He said environmental cleanliness concerns people from all walks of life, noting that compared to 30 or 40 years ago, the public tendency to leave plastic bottles, chips packets, used tissues and other waste items on the ground in a public has increased alarmingly in the cities, districts, upazilas and even in villages. 

Emphasising proper disposal of waste, the Prime Minister said, “Most people in Bangladesh travel on foot or by bus, and the face trouble while passing through the roads where garbage are accumulated. Foul smell come from many places because of piled-up wastes.

"But if we all become a little more careful, instead of throwing our used waste indiscriminately, we put it in a designated place and dispose of it properly later, our environment remains good and we can keep our surroundings and environment beautiful,” he added.

Drawing an analogy with household cleanliness, the premier said, “Just think, if the house you live in were surrounded by scattered garbage, would you like it? Certainly not. and none of us would like.”

“The poet beautifully wrote, 'Green, fertile is my land'. So why can't we keep our environment beautiful?” he said. Referring to his recent visits to different parts of the country, Tarique Rahman said, “Over the past few months, wherever I travelled, I saw piles of garbage in ponds or beside ponds. Yet there was a time when people used to sit there with their families and spend time together.”

He added, “When we visit, the cleaners keep the place clean. But when we leave the area, it again become dirty and no longer remains clean. If you leave a place clean, the next person who comes will also be able to enjoy that clean and beautiful environment.”

Highlighting the importance of public awareness, the Prime Minister said, “If each of us, from today, becomes aware and disposes of the waste properly at designated places, gradually we will be able to make Bangladesh free from litters and build a beautiful environment."

The premier said, “The country belongs to all of us. If we all make efforts, if everybody make their little stride, we will be able to achieve something big.” “Dear countrymen, today I seek this cooperation from you,” the Prime Minister wrote in the message.