ECNEC approves Tk 2,700 crore in projects for Bogura; PM to inaugurate Karatoya dredging and rail line

Projects worth Tk 2,700 crore for the development of Bogura have been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said the allocations for these development projects will be distributed equally among the district's seven parliamentary constituencies.

The state minister also said the prime minister will come to Bogura and inaugurate the dredging of the Karatoya River and the Sirajganj–Bogura rail line.

The state minister made the remarks as chief guest at a programme held at 10:30am on Thursday (12 November) at the Karatoya Convention Centre in Bogura, organised to mark the founding anniversary of Dainik Bogura.

On the prime minister's Bogura visit, Mir Shahe Alam said the prime minister will come to Bogura either towards the end of this week or towards the end of the month. During the visit she will inaugurate the Karatoya River dredging and the Sirajganj–Bogura rail line. The prime minister is working sincerely for Bogura's development and is giving special importance to meeting the district's development shortfall. In the state minister's words, the prime minister holds the people of Bogura in her heart.

Mir Shahe Alam said the proposal to form a Bogura Development Authority has already been raised in the national parliament. If it is passed, it will create extensive new employment opportunities in the district. He said nothing must be done that harms Bogura's reputation, and that everyone must remain united in the interest of development.

On development, the state minister said people's patience is very limited and they often become restless, but development will advance at its own pace and one day development will come looking for the people of Bogura.

The chief speaker at the programme was the prime minister's additional press secretary, Atiqur Rahman Rumon. He said Dainik Bogura has continued publishing with its head held high through many ups and downs. There is no alternative to consensus for Bogura's development; by splitting over minor matters, people are obstructing the district's development themselves. He called on everyone to come out of this situation and unite in the greater interest.

Mir Shahe Alam also said Bogura has created a unique position in Bangladesh's journalism and that the district is very rich in journalism.

Chaired by Dainik Bogura publisher and member of parliament Rezaul Karim Badsha, the programme was also attended by BNP chairperson's adviser Helaluzzaman Talukdar Lalu, Advocate AKM Mahbubur Rahman, Bogura City Corporation administrator M R Islam Swadhin, district council administrator Ahsanul Tayeb Zakir, Naogaon University vice-chancellor Dr Hasanat Ali, deputy commissioner Toufiqur Rahman, Dainik Karatoya editor Mozammel Hoque Lalu, TMSS executive director Dr Hosne Ara Begum, Bogura Press Club president and Dainik Bogura acting editor Rezaul Hasan Ranu, general secretary Kalam Azad, and Beat Model School and College principal Engineer Sahabuddin Saikat, along with distinguished people from various professions.