National Jute Day tomorrow

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DHAKA, March 5, 2018 (BSS) – The National Jute Day-2018 will be observed tomorrow throughout the country amid enthusiasm with a view to making jute goods popular among the people.

The government chalked out a weeklong programme including rally, road show, art camp, poetry festival, seminar and symposiums that began on February 27 to mark the day.

On the eve of the day, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages greeting the people of the jute sector.

In their messages, they hoped that joint efforts of the government and non-government institutions will certainly be able to regain the past glory of jute.

President Hamid, in his message, said the government has taken various initiatives, including modernization of the state owned jute mills, to bring back the glorious past of the jute sector.

The Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 and the Mandatory Jute Packaging Rule 2013 have been implemented to increase the domestic demand of jute, the president said, adding that the Jute Act 2017 has also been enacted in this regard.

The sector is now making glorious contribution again to the economy as jute is being used for producing about 235 kinds of goods, he added.

Hamid hoped that the use of environment friendly jute products would accelerate flourishing of the industry.

Terming jute as the third largest foreign exchange earning sector of the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, said that the contribution of jute as the weapon of Banglalees’ movement for freedom and economic emancipation is a recognized history.

The country’s jute sector was destroyed after the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members in 1975, the premier said, adding that the state owned jute mills were sold out.

“After assuming office in 1996, we attached importance to the development of the jute sector. The jute has been declared as an agricultural product in 2016,” she said.

The Prime Minister said the golden chapter of the golden fiber in building a ‘Sonar Bangladesh’ as dreamt by Bangabandhu is no more a dream now as “our soil is suitable for cultivating jute”.