& 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

OMS of rice to start in mid-March

Staff Correspondent
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in parliament yesterday her government has planned to start Open Market Sale (OMS) of rice at upazila level across the country for low-Income people from midMarch.
"Open Market Sale of rice will begin before the planned time (mid-March) if the upward trend of rice price continues,” she said.
The government also plans to introduce food rationing for the ultra poor, said Hasina, also leader of the House.
Replying to lawmakers' queries, the prime minister in her scripted answers, which were tabled, said the government has already formed a high level committee to study the feasibility of food rationing.
"The government will take a decision after receiving the committee report,” said the PM, who could not attend tire question-answer session as she was busy with resolving the BDR unrest at the lime.
Hasina also mentioned a number of measures taken to bring down prices of essentials.
Steps have been taken for import or purchase of locally produced lentil, onion, sugar and soybean oil by Trading Corporation of Bangladesh
(TCB), and sale of those to people at fair price, she said.
According to the PM's scripted answers, the TCB will import or purchase from local market 3,000 tonnes of lentil, 5,000 tonnes of soybean oil, 1,000 tonnes of sugar, 100 tonnes of onion and 100 tonnes of chickpea this fiscal year.
The premier blamed the immediate past caretaker government for letting the prices of essentials go beyond the commoners' reach.
WEEKLY HOLIDAY
Responding to a query from Awami League lawmaker Meher Afroz, the PM said the government has no plan right now to introduce weekly holiday on Sunday, instead of Friday.
“Overall review is required to introduce weekly holiday on Sunday."
Hasina said 36 Muslim countries out of 57 in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) have weekly holiday on Sunday.
The countries include Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Brunei, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Albania, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Gabon, Surinam, Guyana, Cameroon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Uganda, Senegal, Ivory Cost, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mali, Zebuti, Sear Leon, Benin, Burkynafaso, Mozambique and Comoros, she mentioned.