Village police get pay rise, two women to be recruited in every union

Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday announced higher salaries and benefits for more than 40,000 village police at a grand rally of village police at the National Parade Ground in Dhaka. He said the decisions would take effect from the historic 7 November.

The monthly salary of a village police member has been raised from 7,500 taka to 10,000 taka. The salary of a village police chief has been raised from 8,000 taka to 10,500 taka.

The retirement gratuity for village police has been raised from 70,000 taka to 80,000 taka, and for village police chiefs from 80,000 taka to 100,000 taka.

Village police members need to use mobile phones to exchange information, so the government will give each member 200 taka a month for phone expenses. Members currently receive 300 taka a week as an allowance for attending the local police station each week; the government has raised the travel allowance by 200 taka to 500 taka a week. The travel allowance for village police chiefs has been raised from 300 taka to 600 taka.

The prime minister also announced that two women village police members will be recruited in every union, and that women police will get six months of maternity leave. He said the government has already decided to recruit 100,000 health workers across the country, 80,000 of them women.

In view of the importance of village police work, one long road in every union will be named 'Gram Police Road'. Trees will be planted along the road under the social forestry programme, and the money from selling the trees once they mature will be distributed among the village police of the union.

The prime minister said that during fascist rule, the country suffered not only the destruction of its political system but also ultimate social decay. Planned petty interests and group rivalries, he said, destroyed the long-standing values of harmony, coexistence and empathy in Bangladesh, with disputes instigated even from family to family and revenge and hatred spread to the grassroots.

He said he does not believe that law enforcement alone is the only way to improve the situation. Alongside the active work of law enforcement agencies, establishing religious, social and family values and reviving a culture of harmony and empathy is an effective way to establish control over society, and social crime will fall sharply when those values revive.

As local representatives of the central administration, village police have the opportunity to play an effective role, he said, but their role in every case must be lawful, humane, neutral and people-friendly.

A safe union or village needs a combination of three things, he said: effective local administration, responsible village police and aware citizens. The stronger this combination, the more peaceful, safe and prosperous the villages will become.

The role of village police is also undeniable in natural disasters such as floods, cyclones and fires and in any other emergency, working in coordination with the local administration, he said. Their work may not always make newspaper headlines, but a single wise and positive decision taken in the moment can play an epoch-making role in maintaining order in society.

The prime minister recalled that during the government of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, the Eid bonus for village police was announced for the first time in 1995 and put into effect. He said the government is also mindful of ensuring that village police can lead a somewhat comfortable life with their families and feel secure about the future.

Tarique Rahman said, "I am announcing that from today, the historic 7 November, this decision of the government will take effect, InshaAllah." He said several more benefits have also been ensured for village police, in addition to the pay rise.