Dhaka, Oct. 8 -- Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed raised questions about reliability of the procedure of measuring poverty by the World Bank, just as the global lender presented Bangladesh situation.

"I know how they measure poverty. There are base.there are clientele (to give interview)," he told newsmen in reply to a query after a meeting of the Advisers' Council Committee on Government Purchase at Bangladesh Secretariat that endorsed rice and wheat imports.

Journalists drew his attention about the World Bank's Tuesday release of development update wherein the Bank showed poverty rate having increased in Bangladesh.

Mr Ahmed said: "You take interview over telephone to 5,000 people and make a statement that poverty has increased. I...