& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Anti-smuggling measures reviewed

Govt to gear up drive

By Masud Hasan Khan
The government, reviewing the first five days' performance, has decided to continue and further intensify the nation-wide drive against smuggling, officials say.
At a high-level meeting In the capital Sunday morning, the authorities formed a cell to monitor the on-going drive against Illegal cross-border trade and sale of smuggled commodities Inside the coun-try, they said.
The meeting of the National Anti-smuggling Committee (NAC), first under the present government, was chaired by Home Minister Abdul Matin Chowdhury at the Secretariat
The three-hour-long meeting, which began at 11 am. was attended by the Chief of Naval Staff, secretaries of the concerned ministries, the BDR chief, coordinators of the regional anti-smuggling taskforces and high officials of different law enforcing agencies.
Sources said that the NAC meeting reviewed the overall performance of the Anti-smuggling Task Force during its drive which was launched on January 1.
They said that the meeting decided to continue the crosscountry campaign "until further order".
The meeting noted that the anti-smuggling drive was progressing satisfactorily and people's response to the move was "positive", the sources said.
They said the NAC meeting discussed construction of link roads between two border outposts to beef up the security along the country's border. The roads would be built under the Food for Works Programme of the government. said one source.
It also considered rehabilitation of unemployed youths in the frontier areas so that they could stay away from the Illegal trade, the sources said.
The NAC meeting also decided to sit at least once in every three months to review the progress of the anti-smuggling drive and suggest measures, the source added.
Earlier, government officials said, an amount of Taka five crore had been allocated to run the campaign for one year or more.
Adequate logistic support had also been ensured, they said.
This time it is not easy for the smugglers to resume their activities because the government takes up the problem as a priority one. " said Shah Abdul Hannan, who heads the Task Force.
A member of the National Board of Revenue, Hannan, however, added that the control mechanism would be relaxed with the awareness sharpening among the people against smuggling and the smuggled.
Officials associated with the drive also indicated that motivational programmes, for creating more awareness among the people, and demand reduction programmes like development of the quality of the locally produced commodities would also be taken up by the government.
The . newly-formed' anti-smuggling Cell, with a Joint Secretary of the Home Ministry as its chief, was composed of a Deputy Secretary, and Assistant Secretary and other staff members, according to the sources.
The body would monitor the performance of the regional task forces and feed the NAC on the progress of the drive, they said.
The NAC during Ils meeting would review the reports and recommend measures, they added.