<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">The government has taken a move to impose tolls on the regional highways at a minimum rate to develop the culture of paying money among people.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday asked the authorities concerned to take necessary measures for this purpose.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The government is constructing infrastructures spending thousands of crores of Taka. So, there is a need to make arrangement for realising tolls from the regional highways at least at a minimum rate,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Prime Minister said this while chairing a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) held at the NEC Conference Room in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Planning Minister MA Mannan and State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam briefed the reporters after the meeting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Prime Minister said that by paying tolls in the regional highways&nbsp; the culture of paying tolls will be developed among people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mannan said the PM&nbsp; expressed shock at the tragic fire incident at the Bangabazar in the capital.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said there were a lot of shops in the market in a congested manner while the Prime Minister in the meeting discussed how to address the issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mannan said that the PM also directed the authorities concerned to ensure toilets and sanitation infrastructure in all schools across the country.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"No schools will run without sanitation system," he said quoting the Prime Minister as saying.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Citing the PM, he said that the work of the women still remains outside of the purview of accounting estimation. if their works are counted, then the GDP growth would have been much higher for which there is a need to give due recognition to the work of the women.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Suggesting for avoiding the arable and farmland as much as possible in implementing development projects, she also recommended building elevated roads in the haor region instead of usual roads.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She also directed the Ministry of Commerce to complete the distribution of the essential items among some one crore family card holders at affordable rates under the 2nd phase before the Eid-ul-Fitr.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Responding to a question, Mannan said that they would continue efforts to increase the capacity of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“But, the fire incident at Bangabazar has shown that there is a need to create more awareness among the common people,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Planning Minister said that point-to-point Inflation in Bangladesh climbed to 9.33 percent in March.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The food inflation was 9.09 percent in March as per point-to-point basis while non-food inflation was 9.72 percent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the monthly consumer price Index (CPI)&nbsp; of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the general point-to-point inflation rate in March increased as it reached 9.33 percentage points up from 8.78 percentage points in February, mainly because of the slight rise in food inflation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The CPI was just behind the 10-year high of 9.52 percent seen in August last.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The general point-to-point inflation rate in January was 8.57</div><div style="text-align: justify;">percentage points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The point-to- point food inflation in March increased to 9.09 percentage points up from 8.13 percentage points in February.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, the point-to-point non-food inflation declined slightly to 9.72 percentage points in March down from 9.82 percentage points in February.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The BBS data showed that the national wage index rate in March was 7.18 percent, up from 7.11 percent in February. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>