Prime Minister to tour Sundarbans, Mongla port and proposed economic zone on Thursday
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will visit Khulna and Bagerhat districts next Thursday (22 October). During the visit he will observe the Sundarbans and Hiron Point from a helicopter and join a meeting at the Mongla naval base.
He is also scheduled to inspect the Mongla port jetty and the proposed economic zone of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA). The itinerary was announced in a letter signed on Sunday (18 October) by Md Uzzal Hossain, Protocol Officer-1 at the Prime Minister's Office.
Ahead of the Prime Minister's arrival, the Sundarbans, Dakop upazila and the Mongla port area have been wrapped in tight security. This will be Tarique Rahman's first visit to the industrial south-west and the Rupsha-Pashur basin since taking office.
According to the itinerary, the Prime Minister will leave his residence by road at 8:30am on Thursday for Tejgaon airport. Reaching the airport at 9am, he will travel by helicopter towards the Sundarbans.
At 10am he will observe Hiron Point and the Sundarbans area from the helicopter. After the observation ends at 10:30am, he will land at the Nalian Secondary School field in Dakop upazila of Khulna.
From there he will go to the launch terminal and set off by waterway at 10:45am for BNS Mongla in Bagerhat. He will reach the BNS Mongla jetty at 12:45pm and proceed to the wardroom.
A lunch break is scheduled at 1pm, when the Khulna divisional commissioner and the deputy commissioners of Khulna and Bagerhat will be present. He will then join a meeting in the wardroom meeting room at 1:45pm.
Under the itinerary, he will leave at 2:45pm to inspect the Mongla port jetty, reaching it at 3pm. He will then travel at 3:15pm to the proposed BEZA economic zone and inspect it at 3:30pm.
At the end of the visit, he will leave by helicopter from the helipad at 4pm for Dhaka, and is expected to arrive in the capital at 5pm.
Khulna Deputy Commissioner Hure Jannat said all coordination steps have already been finalised by the district administration to make the Prime Minister's visit smooth, orderly and safe.
Ahead of the visit, National Parliament Whip and Khulna-3 MP Rakibul Islam Bokul and Khulna-1 MP Amir Ejaz Khan visited the Nalian area of Dakop. A helipad has already been built at the Nalian Secondary School field.
Dakop Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Borhan Uddin Mitu said security and transport coordination work at the local level is progressing quickly for the Prime Minister's arrival, though there will be no separate political or administrative programme at the local level.
Khulna District Superintendent of Police Dr Omar Faruk Sarkar said additional police have been deployed in Nalian of Dakop and related areas for the visit, and all kinds of security measures have been taken.
Khulna region Forest Conservator Imran Ahmed and Sundarbans East Divisional Forest Officer Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said special security and monitoring by the Forest Department have been strengthened around the Prime Minister's arrival and the Sundarbans observation area.
