PM to inaugurate Natun Kuri Sports in Khulna, with 16,23,218 children and teenagers taking part

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the second edition of 'Natun Kuri Sports' from Khulna District Stadium at 3pm on Thursday (5 November). More than 1.6 million children and teenagers are taking part in this edition. The inaugural programme will also be broadcast online in 503 upazilas across the country.

According to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a record 16,23,218 competitors have registered online for Natun Kuri Sports Season-2, organised to develop children's and teenagers' sporting talent from the grassroots level. The prime minister will inaugurate the competition from Khulna District Stadium, and it will be broadcast in the country's 503 upazilas.

Earlier, the helicopter carrying the prime minister landed at the Mongla Port helipad at 9:50am on Thursday, deputy press secretary to the prime minister Zahidul Islam Roni said. Under the scheduled programme, the prime minister has two programmes in Mongla, where he will take part in foundation-stone laying for several development projects and a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony. After those programmes he will visit the shrine of Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali (R) in Bagerhat district town, and then travel to Khulna by road.

On his arrival in Mongla, the prime minister was welcomed by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman; State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit; State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Sheikh Faridul Islam; State Minister for Shipping and Bridges Rajib Ahsan; Khulna-5 MP Ali Asgar Lobi; and Khulna-4 MP SK Azizul Bari Helal.

Khulna city has been decorated anew around the prime minister's arrival and the inaugural ceremony, a festive mood prevails across the city, and all preparations have been completed. For the prime minister's visit, Khulna District Stadium, roads used for VIP movement, intersections and important installations have been newly decorated. Walls of government institutions in the city carry graffiti on the world heritage Sundarbans, the Sixty Dome Mosque, Mongla Port, jute mills and renowned scientists and artists, alongside Khulna's history and heritage. Extensive security measures have been taken.

The most decoration has been done at Khulna District Stadium. Its walls carry colourful murals and graffiti on local heritage, the Royal Bengal Tiger, shrimp farming and national personalities. A new wall is being built at the stadium entrance, tiles have been laid on the entrance floor, trees of various species have been planted for beautification, and the stadium's main gate has also been remade in a new design, with the stadium's name written attractively on it.

On the ground it was seen that all the welcome arches and billboards put up to greet the prime minister have been taken down, and festoons put up by party leaders and activists have been removed. For the first time, no scattered arches or banner-festoons are visible for the arrival of a head of government. In their place, the Khulna City Corporation's (KCC) decorated arrangements have created an added attraction.

Khulna metropolitan BNP general secretary and BCB director Shafiqul Alam Tuhin said: 'A plan has been taken to give the prime minister the best reception in memory. Leaders and activists will stand in rows on both sides of the long road from Rupsa's Kudir Bottala via the Rupsa bypass road and Sher-e-Bangla Road, around Power House intersection, to the district stadium, to welcome the prime minister. Necessary preparations have already been completed.'

Khulna deputy commissioner Hure Jannat said: 'The district administration, the divisional commissioner's office and law enforcement agencies have completed all kinds of preparations to make the prime minister's visit and programmes successful. Long-standing enthusiasm and excitement can be seen among the people of Khulna around the prime minister's arrival.'

Khulna City Corporation administrator Nazrul Islam Manju said: 'We are working to build Khulna as a clean city. In the last 12 days, nearly more than a thousand illegal structures have been removed. On the occasion of the prime minister's arrival, over the last 12 days, alongside ensuring cleanliness at the metropolis's entry points, illegal structures in open spaces have been removed. Following the prime minister's instruction to keep the city clean, beautification has been done in an environmentally friendly way without covering it with banners and arches.'

Under the programme, after a break at the circuit house, the prime minister will join the main ceremony at Khulna District Stadium at 3pm. After inaugurating Natun Kuri Sports (Season-2) there, he will depart for Dhaka by helicopter at 4:30pm and is scheduled to land at Tejgaon Airport in Dhaka at 5:15pm.

Accompanying the prime minister are Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam; BNP special secretary Belayet Hossain Mridha; the prime minister's principal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar; additional press secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon; Special Security Force (SSF) director general Major General Mahbubus Samad Chowdhury; President Guard Regiment (PGR) commandant Brigadier General Golam Arikul Alam; protocol officer Kamrul Islam; and the prime minister's ADC Squadron Leader Syed Nazmul Hossain.