Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said the government will soon begin work to improve road and rail connectivity on the Dhaka-Sylhet route, with the aim of easing travel and supporting regional economic activity.
Speaking in Sylhet on Saturday, he said the current road journey between Sylhet and Dhaka takes nearly 10 hours because of poor road conditions.
“The condition of the road to travel from Sylhet to Dhaka is so poor, and it takes nearly 10 hours to travel. This suffering has been caused due to the broken condition of the road at different places,” he said.
Referring to his election campaign, the Prime Minister said he had promised people in Sylhet that construction work on the Sylhet-Dhaka road would begin if his party formed the government.
“During the election campaign, I came to Sylhet and said that if we are able to form the government, InshaAllah, we will begin the construction work of the Sylhet-Dhaka Road,” he said.
Tarique Rahman, who is also chairman of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said that after forming the government he discussed the matter with the relevant ministry. He said he was informed that the project had faced land acquisition problems at 11 locations where companies were expected to set up site offices, along with several administrative issues.
He said the ministry had already taken steps to begin the work.
“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,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that once the work is completed, people travelling by road between Dhaka and Sylhet will no longer have to face the same level of hardship.
He made the remarks while addressing a civic rally on the premises of Sylhet City Corporation’s Nagar Bhaban in the Chandni Ghat area of the city.
Earlier, around 11:30am, he inaugurated a major project for beautification and construction of flood protection infrastructure along both banks of the Surma River in the Chandni Ghat area.
Speaking about transport policy, the Prime Minister said railways should receive greater attention alongside road development.
“The more roads we continue to widen, the more vehicles will come onto the roads. Traffic will definitely increase,” he said.
He also said road expansion could lead to the loss of agricultural land.
“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,” he said.
Tarique Rahman said an initiative had been taken to establish a double railway line on the Sylhet-Dhaka route and that work on the project would begin soon.
“As a result, we will be able to travel at lower cost. Simultaneously, business people will also be able to transport their goods at lower cost,” he said.
On healthcare, the Prime Minister said the government had taken initiatives to build a healthcare system modelled on the United Kingdom’s National Health Service.
He said people in cities receive healthcare services, while many people in villages remain deprived of complete healthcare support.
“We hope we will be able to reduce the number of sick people through creating awareness among the people about their health,” he said.
Tarique Rahman said the government had decided to recruit 100,000 health workers across the country, with nearly 80 per cent of them expected to be women. He said the workers would visit marginal communities and provide health awareness advice at people’s doorsteps.
He also said steps were being taken to quickly launch a 250-bed hospital under Sylhet Medical College, which would later be upgraded to 1,200 beds.
On industrial development, the Prime Minister said industries and factories would be expanded further in Sylhet. He added that new employment opportunities would also be created in the local IT sector.
