PM Hasina stresses making villages beautiful protecting bio-diversity

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. File Photo
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. File Photo

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said her government has been working to make all the villages beautiful in a planned way by ensuring all the civic amenities alongside protecting bio-diversity as dreamt by father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“It is needed to arrange all the villages across the country in a beautiful manner by protecting bio-diversity and ensuring civic amenities to build ‘Golden Bangla’ as dreamt by father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” she said.

The prime minister said it while witnessing a presentation on “Land Acquisition and Bio-Diversity Preservation Plan” in adjoining areas of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Complex at Tungipara of Gopalganj.

In this context she said, “The civic amenities should be ensured not only in upazila level, but also in each of the villages and my government has been relentlessly working to this end.”

The prime minister asked the authorities concerned to take development programmes bearing in the mind of protecting arable lands, saying, “Bangabandhu wanted to arrange villages with building houses in one side of the villages keeping arable land on the other side.”

Prime minister’s adviser HT Imam, Mashrafee Bin Mortaza MP, and prime minister’s principal secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, and press secretary Ihsanul Karim were among others present on the occasion.

The four-year project “Land Acquisition and Bio-Diversity Preservation Plan” will be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) at a cost of over Tk 3.95 billion.

The presentation was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in the capital with prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. LGED chief engineer Md Khalilur Rahman gave the presentation.

The project is being undertaken as part of the ongoing “Important Urban Infrastructure Development Project (2nd Phase)” involving Tk 34.65 billion and this will be implemented in 281 municipalities across the country from January 2018 and December 2021 at the directives of the prime minister.

Under the project, road development, construction of bridge, culvert and drain, land acquisition and rehabilitation, preservation of biodiversity, digging canals, reconstruction of river banks, renovation of ponds, lakes and canals, beautification, tree plantation, and other infrastructure development as well as installation of street lights will be done.

The prime minister was also apprised of the latest condition of some important development works at Tungipara municipality areas undertaken by the LGED.

The development works included the constriction of Sheikh Russell Children Park (completed), re-digging and beatification of Tungipara-Patgati Canal (completed), beatification of ponds of Tungipara Upazila Complex (completed), construction of Patgati Kitchen Market (ongoing),construction of Tungipara Kitchen Market (completed) and construction of multi-storied building (proposed), completion of the uncompleted works of a graveyard (completed), opposite to Sheikh Russell Children Park, reconstruction of the mosque at Tungipara Bazar (proposed), and construction of new Tungipara Bus Stand (ongoing).

Stressed the need for taking development programmes through well-thought out plans, Sheikh Hasina said, “Development is not only constructing establishments of stones and bricks, rather it is a way to take various programmes considering the need of the people and protecting the natural environment and biodiversity.”

She asked all concerned to take development programmes as per the need, saying, “Don’t take unnecessary development projects such as constructing needless bridges as they increase siltation that lead to the death of the rivers.”

She also asked to construct the embankments beside canals and rivers to that height it needs as it also contributes to the extinction of the rivers and water bodies, the water reservoirs of the country.

Hasina premier also inquired about the condition of the roads and other development works particularly in the villages in Tungipara, saying, “I want to develop my Tungipara constituency like the other lawmakers as its member of parliament (MP).”