Police has sought Tk150 crore for additional security and patrolling across the country to protect state assets and people’s lives from incidents of political violence during the ongoing blockade.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, an official at the Finance Division said police sought the additional money at the revised budget meeting on Sunday, which would mainly be used for police patrol in the potentially risky areas around the country.
The Finance Division gave an additional fund for a risk allowance that would amount to 30% of basic salaries of field-level police members, ranking from constables to sub-inspectors, the official added, seeking anonymity.
Earlier, Bangladesh Ansar, a law enforcement force under the Ministry of Home Affairs, sought Tk26 crore to conduct patrolling at 1,000 points along the railway tracks across the country for the next three months.
The Finance Division official said: “We are now scrutinising the proposal for an additional fund of Tk26 crore to deploy Ansar members along the railway tracks during the BNP-led 20-party’s blockade, which has gone on for two weeks.”
In the budget announcement of the last fiscal year, the government announced risk allowance equal to 30% of basic salaries for the members of police, Ansar, prison guard, fire-services and civil defence.
During the pre-election political violence in 2013, removing the fishplates of railway tracks and causing trains to derail was a “popular” method of sabotage. This year, too, several such incidents were reported around the country since the BNP-led alliance enforced its non-stop blockade on January 6.
The government has kept aside Tk1,200 crore in the Unexpected Fund – used for tackling any untoward crisis which includes unrest and disasters – for the current fiscal year. Before the January 5 parliamentary elections, the government disbursed more than Tk100 crore for security enhancement.
