ZCZC
BSS-50
PM-BRIDGES-INAUGURATION
PM opens 23 bridges, railway overbridge for traffic
DHAKA, Aug 14 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said she is making
constant stride to accomplish the tasks which are very crucial to take
forward the country.
Speaking at a function at her Gonobhaban residence here this afternoon, the
prime minister said her journey was never easy as time and again she had to
face death threats.
“But I never went back although I’m living in a great pain of losing all my
near and dear ones,” she said in a choked voice on the eve of fateful August
15.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh was liberated under the leadership of
Bangabandhu. But the defeated force didn’t sit idle. They struck finally on
August 15, 1975 on a progressing nation.”
On this day in 1975, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, his wife Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib, their three sons and other
family members were brutally killed.
“The assailants killed every member of Bangabandhu’s family so that none
inheriting his blood can come to power in future and people of Bangladesh
never become united under any leadership,” she said.
The function was arranged marking inauguration of 23 bridges constructed at
different points of Joydebpur-Chandra-Tangail-Alenga Highway (N-4) as part of
South Asia Sub Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).
The prime minister, through a videoconference, also inaugurated a railway
overpass at Fatepur of Feni district on Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway.
Sheikh Hasina said the bridges would not only ensure socioeconomic
development of Bangladesh but also open a new era of regional and sub-
regional cooperation, as envisioned by the Father of the Nation.
Minister for Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Kader and Army Chief
General Aziz Ahmed also spoke on the occasion. Secretary of the roads and
highways division Nazrul Islam gave a presentation on different aspects of
the projects and principal secretary Md. Nojibur Rahman conducted the
meeting.
The prime minister said the government, from now on, is constructing all
four-lane highways with two additional service roads for mobility of the
local transports and people.
These roads would reduce road accidents and local people would be able to
keep their mobility uninterrupted, she said adding that underpasses and
overpasses are being constructed where such infrastructures are required.
The prime minister hoped that the bridges on Joydebpur-Chandra-Tangail-
Alenga Highway would end the sufferings of the commuters on Dhaka-Tangail
road and the railway overpass would make easy the journey on Dhaka-Chittagong
highway.
The Roads and Highway Division has constructed the 23 bridges on Joydebpur-
Chandra-Tangail-Alenga Highway at a cost of Taka 304.14 crore while
Bangladesh Army has built the 86.79 meter long railway overpass at Fatepur at
a cost of Taka 68.61 crore.
The prime minister reiterated her government’s plans to introduce high
speed train between Dhaka and other major cities saying expressways are being
constructed in Dhaka for modernization of the capital’s communication system.
BSS/AKH/BR/1915 HRS