A Correspondent:
Sylhet: Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday said the government will soon begin work to upgrade road and rail connectivity on the Dhaka–Sylhet route, aiming to ease travel and boost regional economic activity.
“The condition of the road to travel from Sylhet to Dhaka is so poor and it takes nearly 10 hours to trav-el. This suffering has been caused due to the broken condition of the road at different places,” he added.
In this connection, he said, “During the election campaign, I came here and said that if we are able to form the government, InshaAllah, we will begin the construction work of the Sylhet-Dhaka road.”
The Prime Minister said, “After forming the government, I discussed the matter with the concerned min-istry and learned that when the work began, there were land acquisition problems at 11 locations where companies were to set up site offices. In addition, there are also various administrative issues.”
Noting that the concerned ministry has already taken initiatives to begin the construction work, he said, “I hope, InshaAllah, we will be able to start this work as soon as possible. And, InshaAllah, it will be completed within 2-3 years”.
Once the work is completed, the Prime Minister said, people will no longer have to suffer so much while travelling by road from Dhaka to Sylhet and from Sylhet to Dhaka.
Tarique Rahman, also ruling BNP chairman, made the remarks while addressing a civic rally on the Na-gar Bhaban premises of the Sylhet City Corporation at Chandni Ghat area in the city.
Earlier, he inaugurated a major project to enhance beautification and construction of flood protection infrastructure along both banks of the Surma River in the Chandni Ghat area around 11:30 am.
Speaking about the importance of railways over road transport, the Prime Minister said, “The more roads we continue to widen, the more vehicles will come onto the roads. Traffic will definitely in-crease”.
Besides, if roads are built, agricultural land will also be destroyed, he said, adding, “Therefore, we will definitely improve roads and communication systems, but we want to develop the railway system. You will surely be interested if the railway system between Dhaka and Sylhet is improved”.
Noting that an initiative has been taken to establish a double line on the Sylhet-Dhaka railway route, Tarique Rahman said, work on this will begin soon.
At the same time, he said, new employment opportunities will also be created in the IT sector here.
Regarding water logging in Sylhet, Tarique Rahman said the problem of water logging is not limited only to Sylhet; it is a common problem across the country.
People must be made aware to solve this problem, he said and urged the city corporation to undertake various projects so that people can receive services.
“Therefore, to move this country forward, we all have to hold on to one belief, one slogan, and that is- “Korbo Kaj, Gorbo Desh, Sobar Agee Bangladesh (We will work and build the country, Bangladesh comes first)’,” he added.
Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minis-ter Ariful Haque Choudhury, Prime Minister’s Adviser Humaiun Kobir and Whip Md Gk Gouse spoke at the event with Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury in the chair.
Prime Minister’s wife Dr Zubaida Rahman, Mst Tahsina Rushdir Luna, MP, Shammi Akhter, MP, and Advisory Council Member of BNP Chairman Enamul Haque Chowdhury were present at the event.
