Dhaka: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today directed authorities concerned to take initiatives from now on regarding police’s preparations and works for holding peaceful elections. He came up with the directives at a meeting with Home Adviser Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and officials concerned at the State Guest House Jamuna here.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the chief adviser had previously joined a meeting with field level police officers on March 17, where the officers informed him of their advantages and disadvantages. Today’s meeting was held to discuss what could be done to resolve these problems, as stated in a press release issued by the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.
During the meeting, Prof Yunus also issued a set of directives aimed at improving the welfare of police officers working at the grassroots level. He ordered immediate measures to be taken, including considering the issue of lifting the existing ceiling on risk allowance, procuring 364 new pickups and 140 prisoner vans for police, and disbursing funds for ongoing construction projects of the police whose work is less than 70 percent complete.
Additionally, funds should be disbursed for acquiring land for 65 police stations located in rented buildings. The chief adviser also urged consideration of interest-free loans for purchasing motorcycles for SI and ASI level officers.
Prof Yunus emphasized the need to classify district police based on their performance and to take steps to improve the performance of those demonstrating relatively low performance.