Bangabandhu's Golden Bengal: My Village My Town

Hiren Pandit:

The New Year 2022 started with the commitment to implement the goal of sustainable development with Leave NO One Behind. Multiple mega projects will be inaugurated this year. The construction work of 10 mega projects and 100 economic zones including the Padma Multipurpose Bridge is going on at a fast pace. These 10 mega projects will play an important role in laying the foundation for maintaining a high growth trend in future. The government's 10 mega projects are Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Metrorail in Dhaka, rail link to Padma Bridge, construction of railway line from Dohazari in Chattogram to Ramu via Cox's Bazar and from Ramu to Ghumdhum, construction of Rooppur nuclear power plant, construction of Materbari coal power plant, construction of LNG terminal, Rampal coal power plant, Payra Port and Sonadia Deep Sea Port. Work on all these projects will be completed and inaugurated this year. Bangabandhu's dream of a golden Bengal will go one step further.

The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working tirelessly to bring all the facilities of cities to villages through the program My Village My Town. Under the mega program titled 'Amar Gram Amar Shahar', (My Village My Town) many aims have been set up such as road connectivity, internet connection, telecommunication, health center, drainage and waste management. In addition to the haor, coastal areas, hilly areas, char areas, barind areas, beel areas and economic zones, the remaining villages are being made model villages one by one. Communication and market infrastructure, modern health services, quality education, pure drinking water, information technology facilities and high-speed internet facilities, improved sewerage and waste management, community space and recreation, banking facilities, rural employment, increased power and energy supply, agriculture - it has been said to have all the facilities including increasing production through modernization and mechanization.

In the meantime, the test journey of the long-cherished dream metro rail started on August 29, 2021. Subsequently, after the test journey of Metrorail, on 12 December 2021, it ran from Uttara to Agargaon. However, passengers will travel from this year's Victory Day. With the installation of the 41st span, the entire main structure of the 6.15 km Padma Bridge became visible on December 10, 2020. The dream Padma Bridge is scheduled to be opened to the public on June 30 this year (2022). On the other hand, the Karnafuli tunnel project is expected to be completed in December 2022. So far, the progress of the project is more than 80 percent. The section from the airport to Tejgaon Railgate via Banani will be custom-built by December this year (2022).

When the World Bank cancelled the allocation from the Padma Bridge, the Awami League government took it as a challenge and the work on the Padma Bridge is being completed quickly. Over the last few years, the Awami League government has started building infrastructure. Flyovers and underpasses are being constructed. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has turned Bangladesh into a middle-income country with the huge task of the Awami League in mind. It has become a reality in the golden jubilee of independence. Education, communication infrastructure, gas, electricity, women's education, employee salary increase, healthcare, free book distribution, achieving self-sufficiency in food production, disadvantaged groups, helpless, elderly people, widows, persons with disabilities, divorced, abandoned by husband, autistic people are getting the benefits of assisting the indigent freedom fighters, shelter project, one house one farm project, women empowerment and overall development of different sectors. Only under the leadership of the present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will it be possible to achieve that prosperity. Despite the Covid-19 epidemic, our beloved Bangladesh is moving forward at a relentless pace towards its desired goal.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib became one of the great leaders of the Bengali nation. That is why foreigners call Bangabandhu 'Founding Father of the Nation'. He gave the gift of freedom of dreams to the people of this country.

We have achieved a lot in various fields in Bangladesh today! As proud citizens of Bangladesh, we have free movement all over the world. Bangabandhu's contribution is all that we take today on the development highway by overcoming various adversities around. If we did not get an independent country, we would still have to be crushed on the threshing floor of Pakistan. We can think of everything independently because we have got an independent country. Our success in various indicators of society and economy has become the focus of the astonishing attention of the world, which has been made possible by the welfare of Bangabandhu. As the great architect of independence, the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has not only unveiled that infinite horizon of possibilities, but at the same time has inspired the nation to conquer fear.

The Father of the Nation knew that there was no alternative to education for the betterment of Bengalis. He, therefore, created a constitutional obligation on the government to include in the Constitution a provision to make primary education free, universal and compulsory to enlighten the citizens in the light of education.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the best Bengali over thousands of years, has built this beautiful motherland of our beloved Bangladesh by standing in the heat of the experience that is transmitted through the turbulent times of agitation, struggle and imprisonment.

There were various crises everywhere in the war-torn independent country. He immersed himself in the work of rebuilding a war-torn country. While the people were sighing in the heavy wind of scarcity and weeping, the father of the nation returned to the country and took the helm like a skilled sailor. He immersed himself in the work of rebuilding a war-torn country. He gave the air of peace all around. He took massive administrative initiatives to get rid of the dire crisis. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not only the leader of Bangladesh, but was also the leader of the oppressed people of the whole world. The deprived people of the world will look to Bangabandhu in any crisis as their life-force.

Bangabandhu has always fought for the establishment of the rights of the people of this country. So, we think of one thing over and over again that when the Bengali nation has achieved something, through many sacrifices, through many struggles we have had to achieve. We have to hold on to those achievements. In any case, everyone should be aware that this achievement cannot be thwarted in the future.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "We have won the great war of liberation. We are a victorious nation. As a victorious nation, we can walk with our heads held high in the court of the world. We will not bow our heads to anyone. By utilizing all the resources that the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu has repeatedly said, we will be glorified in our glory in the world assembly, we will build ourselves and we will walk with our heads held high in the world. This will be an important step for the people of this country. This is how our beloved motherland Bangladesh built by Bangabandhu will move forward.

"When we learn to die, no one will be able to hold us in check" as is proclaimed by Bangabandhu. Attempts are being made to make it a reality on the golden jubilee of independence. It is possible to achieve that prosperity only under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Moving forward with Bangabandhu's firm commitment to build a Sonar Bangla, our beloved motherland Bangladesh will become a developed country by 2041 by achieving SDG by 2030.

Digital Bangladesh is already working to improve and modernize the quality of life of its citizens and to facilitate access to civic services, education, health, management, working methods, industry, trade and production, economy, social and cultural life in a digital manner. As technology has become readily available to every citizen of the country, arrangements are being made to reach out to the marginalized. Technology has become a trusted medium in all civic services and livelihoods.

In the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Bangladesh's information technology sector has focused on various infrastructural developments, including the development of skilled human resources. Bangladesh is trying to be among top 50 countries in the UN e-Governance Development Index for the next five years. One Country One Rate Program has brought people under the Internet at affordable prices. More than 5,000 Union are under submarine cable connectivity. 5G has been launched but will be commercially operational from March 2022.

With the help of information technology, young people are building small and big IT firms, e-commerce sites, app-based services and other organizations. Besides, some big achievements including the first satellite of Bangladesh in space have taken Bangladesh to a unique height to the world. Bangabandhu's golden Bengal is no longer a dream; it is now a visible reality.

Writer: Research Fellow, BNNRC

Courtesy: Daily Sun

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