News Desk :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged owners to treat workers in tea plantations with more care and to see to their welfare.
She made the call at a National Tea Day event at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com
Addressing owners, she said: “If the tea workers were equipped with more advanced machinery, they could do more work. It is not enough to consider them as your subordinates.
You have to remember that their labour and sweat are your path to increasing your production and income.
As such, you have to take better care of your workers. Take care of their children’s health, take care of their health, take care of their education, take care of their problems.”
Stating that the government will ensure the livelihoods of tea workers, the prime minister said, “Tea plantation workers will not remain in a floating state.
The government will take all measures to keep them well. Their livelihood will be ensured.”
Stating that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman worked to change the fate of tea workers, she said, “They have not forgotten what the Father of the Nation did for the tea workers.
Stating that tea is helping to bring financial prosperity to the people of Bangladesh, Hasina said: “Now tea cultivation has spread to different areas. Where we used to produce only a little tea, tea production has increased and consumption has also increased.”
“We must expand and take advantage of the potential of tea in the north with care, taking measures to increase tea production further.
Moreover, the tea board is providing technical assistance and incentives to small farmers. The government is providing support in all aspects. In addition to Panchagarh, the tea board has built a permanent office in Lalmonirhat.
“Tea is also grown in Panchagarh courtyards. Where they plant vegetables, they plant tea too.
Tea is becoming a cash crop. It is helping to bring financial prosperity to the people of the country. The demand for tea is increasing.”