Huge debt burden may make govt salaries difficult: Minister

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku warned that immense debt burdens could make paying government salaries difficult without proper economic planning.

"Bangladesh is currently standing among ruins. So much debt was accumulated that paying the salaries of government officials may become difficult one day if we do not plan properly." Minister made these remarks on Friday (August 14) during an exchange meeting with municipality officials and employees at the Sirajganj Municipality hall room.

Addressing the meeting, the minister noted that development is impossible without proper planning. He added that the government presented a budget designed to avoid placing additional tax burdens on the public.

However, he emphasized that citizens and the administration must work together to implement this budget.

During the event, the minister distributed six vehicles, including dump trucks, intended for municipal cleanliness operations.

Referring to driving the vehicles, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said, "I know many people will criticize this at tea stalls. But I did not board the truck to show off to people."

The minister recalled, "I saw these thirty or forty years ago. Waking up in the morning, I used to see a vehicle like this cleaning the road. The road was shining. I boarded the truck out of that excitement."

Regarding the maintenance of municipal vehicles, he remarked, "The responsibility of maintaining these municipal vehicles belongs to everyone, because the public is the parent of the government."

Earlier, the minister inaugurated RCC drain and road construction works in the Dhanbandhi Dobapara area under Ward 10 of Sirajganj Sadar Municipality.

District Commissioner Aminul Islam, Municipality Administrator Shahadat Hossain, Municipal Executive Officer Rafiqul Islam, and District BNP General Secretary Saidur Rahman Bachchu were among those present at the event.

-SA