<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday asked the media to do constructive criticism for the welfare of the country,  not for damaging it.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The criticism should be for the welfare of the country and not for damaging it,"  she said while addressing a function at her office here in the city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the function, the premier distributed cheques of financial assistance to the families of dead, sick, insolvent and injured journalists.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year some Tk 3.41 crore were given against 438 journalists as financial assistance from Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust (BJWT) Fund.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hasina said the Awami League government has ensured freedom of media  in the last 14 years. "None had ever enjoyed so much freedom in the past," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The PM asked the media to do criticism as much as required to correct the government but not to hamper the ongoing progress of the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We don't want that the progress of Bangladesh ti be hampered," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She said the media will have to have the sense of responsibility and dutifulness towards the country and the nation while they enjoy freedom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The BJWT fund was formed in 2014 with the seed money of Tk 25 crore provided by the prime minister on two occasions l.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So far some Tk 40 crore was distributed among 13,510 journalists from the fund.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud presided over the function, while Information Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker spoke on the occasion. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>