Cabinet approves draft of Bangladesh Film Artists Welfare Trust Act

The cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the “Bangladesh Film Artists Welfare Trust Act 2020” to ensure overall welfare of the actors and actresses of the country’s film industry and enhance their professional excellence.

“The law has been formulated in line with the prime minister’s directive to provide financial assistance to insolvent and incapable artists for their welfare and treatment as well,” Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam told reporters at the regular post-weekly cabinet meeting at the secretariat.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the meeting virtually from her official residence, Ganabhaban, in Dhaka, while her cabinet colleagues were connected from the secretariat through virtual media.

The cabinet secretary said the proposed law also suggested helping the dependents of an artist after his or her death.

He said there would be a 13-member board of the trustee with the information minister as its chairman while a government-appointed managing director will act as its executive officer.

“It [trust] will be operated with a fund of its own or other sources and government allocated money from the annual budget each year,” he added.

Anwarul, however, said the film artists who will get benefit from the artiest welfare trust’ of the Cultural Affairs Ministry, will not be eligible for getting any grant from this newly proposed act.

Other issues

The secretary said Monday’s meeting was also told about future plans as well as the steps undertaken by the Agriculture Ministry to tackle the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

To tackle the affect of the lethal disease, the Agriculture Ministry, he said, emphasized on some other issues, including increasing agricultural production and its proper marketing, using of new technology in agricultural cultivation, ensuring affordable prices of agricultural product, proper use of the arable land even in the farmers’ yard, and all barren pieces of land of expatriates Bangladeshi with the help of local administration and cultivating new crops varieties.

Meanwhile, the cabinet was informed about the steps taken by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief during the global epidemic.

The cabinet was also informed about latest update of the foreign aid, the cabinet secretary mentioned.

In unscheduled discussion, the issue on government’s steps taken at all levels to deal with Covid-19 and using of masks came up for discussion in the cabinet, he told reporters.

The prime minister directed all concerned to handle the matter amicably with giving more motivation and hinted of increasing the amount of mobile court fines for not using masks at gathering or outside the residence, Anwarul added.