Prime Minister: One sapling must be planted every year

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called on students to plant at least one sapling every year. He made the appeal this Monday afternoon at an event held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.

The Prime Minister said, "Before coming here, I planted a tree outside. At that time, I was connected online to 29,600 locations across the country. At each location, people planted three trees each. So nearly 90,000 saplings were planted in a single day."

"Everyone must plant one tree every year. Wherever you live, whichever field you play in, whichever house you stay in, whichever school or college you study at—plant a sapling somewhere there every year," Tarique Rahman added.

The Prime Minister explained why students should plant trees. "Everyone has to live in this country. We need to breathe with full lungs. You must have read in various articles that due to our growing population and the increase in vehicles and other things, we have had to cut down many trees. As a result, our air has become highly polluted. If we don't take action right now, there will come a time when we won't be able to inhale pure air. That is why, if you want this event to be fruitful, plant a tree for yourself."

"You will grow up, and the tree will also grow. You will see that the tree will become your best friend someday. You will be able to talk to that tree."

During this time, the Prime Minister recalled his memories of life in exile in London. "The house I used to live in in London had many large trees around it. I would sometimes walk while looking at the trees. It's a different feeling. But when the wind blows and the tree sways, it looks very beautiful. I believe that when you plant a sapling and the tree grows big, you will also experience this feeling."

The Ministry of Education and the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education organized the event at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Agargaon, Dhaka. At the ceremony, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his spouse Dr. Zubaida Rahman handed over the "Innovative Talented Award" to students from various projects representing several institutions, including St. Joseph Higher Secondary School (Dhaka), Sandhani School and College (Meherpur), Dinajpur Government College, Dinajpur Cantonment Public School and College, Adamjee Cantonment College (Dhaka), Sharifabad School and College (Nilphamari), Fulki Sahaj Path School (Chattogram), Kushtia District School, Narail Government Girls' High School, and Gala Chipar Alim Madrasa (Patuakhali).
'Surrounding areas must be kept clean'
The Prime Minister told the students, "Bangladesh comes first. The future lies in this country, and what it needs most is discipline. I want to say that you must be disciplined. You must have seen on social media or TV that I have said many times—I need another help from all of you, especially those who are in the BNCC. We must keep the place we live in and the environment we are in clean. We see abroad that their roads, gardens, and everything are very clean."

He added, "We see that our roads are full of garbage. This isn't being done by outsiders; we are doing it to ourselves. Can't we all work together to keep the country clean?" At this point, the students responded with a resounding "Yes."

"When we see someone littering, we will tell them that this is wrong. We will shame them, saying that we must not litter in public places—whether it's paper or food. Together, we want a beautiful Bangladesh."

The event was attended by Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon, the Prime Minister's Education Adviser Mahdi Amin, Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division under the Ministry of Education Abdul Khaleq, Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, startup entrepreneurs from various educational institutions, students, and representatives of government and private organizations.

Upon entering the venue at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, a smartly turned-out contingent of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) presented a guard of honour to the Prime Minister. He later inspected the guard and delivered a brief address to them.

Afterwards, the Prime Minister inaugurated the tree-planting programme for students at the secondary school level across the country, along with the National Startup, Science Project, and Innovative Idea Exhibition. He then entered the main event hall.