National
PM Sheikh Hasina stresses Importance of Local Games & Sportsmanship
On Wednesday, February 7th, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed the importance of regularly organizing sports tournaments at the inter-school, college, and university levels. Inaugurating the final round of the 52nd National Winter Sports Competition for schools, madrasas, and technical institutes, the Prime Minister virtually joined the event from her official residence, Ganabhaban. The competition, organized jointly by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Rajshahi, and Bangladesh National School, Madrasha, and Technical Institutions Sports Association, is set to take place from February 7 to 12 at Muktijuddho Smriti Stadium in Rajshahi.
Prime Minister Hasina highlighted the significance of creating an environment for regular inter-school, college, and university sports tournaments, including those at the upazila and district levels. She expressed the belief that organizing various tournaments throughout the year would contribute to the physical and mental strength of young people, fostering creativity, love for society and country, and bringing honor to their families.
Emphasizing the importance of local games, Prime Minister Hasina urged authorities to make them more attractive. She acknowledged the positive impact of sports on creating unity, fostering friendship, instilling a competitive spirit, and enhancing psychological strength through the development of sportsmanship.
The Prime Minister underscored her government’s commitment to sports development, mentioning initiatives such as football tournaments for primary school students. Responding to the education minister’s suggestion, she supported the introduction of secondary school-level tournaments for various sports. Prime Minister Hasina outlined plans for intensive training and the establishment of sports training centers in every division to enhance children’s skills in competitive tournaments.
She disclosed the government’s construction of mini stadiums in each upazila for year-round sports competitions. Present at the Rajshahi end were Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury.
The National Winter Sports Competition, initiated by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972, involves 824 students participating in 13 different sports events in the final round. The competition, which commenced on January 11, 2024, faced interruptions in 1998 due to floods and in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leaders of the quota reform movement have resolutely refused to negotiate with the government, insisting that their movement will persist until their demands are met.
In a Facebook post, Hasnat Abdullah, a coordinator of the movement, declared, “No discussion through stepping onto blood.”
Asif Mahmud, another prominent leader, echoed this sentiment, stating, “There can be no dialogue with bullets. I would prefer death over this betrayal.”
He further elaborated, “On one side, there are bullets. On the other, there is a call for dialogue. We can’t sit for dialogue while stepping onto the blood of our brothers.”
Earlier, leaders of the quota reform movement accused the government of escalating the law and order situation towards violence, asserting that their movement was peaceful until the government’s intervention.
Vowing to continue their struggle, Asif Mahmud stated, “We will continue our protests till we achieve our demands for reformation of the quota system, reopening of the halls and campuses, making university campuses terror-free, withdrawing political forces from the campuses, and punishing the killers and attackers.”
He added, “The people of the country have encircled those who tried to corner us. No conspiracy will be able to derail our movement.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged both local and international investors to invest in the extraction of marine resources from Bangladesh’s extensive sea areas.
“In order to fortify the blue economy through the diverse utilization of our marine resources, I call upon local and foreign investors to seize the opportunity to invest in Bangladesh. This will enable us to harness more of our marine resources,” she announced.
The Prime Minister made these remarks during the inauguration of the Bangladesh International Aquaculture and Seafood Show-2024 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka.
She emphasized the importance of adhering to proper standards in the collection, distribution, and processing of fish to boost exports, aiming to make fish the country’s second-largest source of foreign currency.
Sheikh Hasina pointed out that her government has made limited progress in harvesting fish and other sea resources from the deep sea due to a lack of interest from local investors.
“Therefore, we need foreign investment to advance in this area. This is the reality we must face,” she noted.
She also suggested that both local and foreign investors can collaborate in joint ventures or invest separately in this sector to achieve better results.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted light to moderate and moderately heavy rainfall or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, across all eight divisions of the country over the next 24 hours, starting from 9 am today.
In its weather bulletin issued this morning, the BMD stated, “Light to moderate rain or thundershowers with temporary gusty wind is expected in a few places over Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Additionally, one or two places in Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, and Barisal divisions may experience similar conditions, with moderately heavy falls anticipated at several locations in Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions.”
The bulletin also highlighted that the current mild heat wave sweeping across the Rangpur division and the districts of Tangail, Chuadanga, Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra, and Netrokona may persist.
Daytime temperatures are expected to rise slightly, while nighttime temperatures are likely to remain nearly unchanged throughout the country.
On Wednesday, the highest recorded temperature was 36.7 degrees Celsius, observed in Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Rajarhat. The lowest temperature recorded today was 26.0 degrees Celsius, noted in Bandarban and Teknaf.
Over the last 24 hours, rainfall amounted to 16 mm in Bandarban.
For the capital, the sun will set at 6:48 pm today and rise at 5:21 am tomorrow.
