Regarding the meeting, Abdul Jabbar Mandal said, “The Honorable Prime Minister called us. He learned about our activities. He gave advice and guidance on some matters.”
In response to a question about whether the Prime Minister gave any special message, he said, “He did, but I do not want to say anything about this now. He praised our entire team.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has instructed the formation of a three-member committee to identify and quickly resolve the problems of institutions responsible for ensuring safe food, controlling product quality, and conducting anti-adulteration activities.
He gave this instruction during a meeting held on Monday (July 6) at 3:30 PM at the Prime Minister's Office in the Bangladesh Secretariat with officials from the Consumer Rights Protection Directorate, the Bangladesh Safe Food Authority, BSTI, city corporations, and those conducting anti-adulteration drives and mobile courts at the field level.
The Prime Minister instructed the committee to submit a report with recommendations within one month, identifying the short-term and long-term problems of the relevant institutions.
The committee has been formed with the Prime Minister's Advisor on Public Administration Ismail Zabullah, State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari, and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Nasimul Gani as members.
In the meeting, officials from the Consumer Rights Protection Directorate, the Bangladesh Safe Food Authority, and BSTI highlighted issues such as manpower shortages at the district level, lack of modern laboratories, the need for advanced equipment at the field level, and security risks in conducting drives against influential syndicates. They also demanded an increase in the powers of mobile courts.
The Prime Minister said, “There will be problems. Still, we have to move forward through those problems. We cannot sit idle. Many countries in the world were once more underdeveloped than us, yet today they have progressed far. We too must move forward.”
It is noteworthy that Abdul Jabbar Mandal has been serving in field-level operations of the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate for a long time. He has gained recognition through drives against the prices of daily necessities, adulteration, and irregularities in the market.
