PM for long-term township plans
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the authorities concerned to formulate any new township plan keeping in mind the context of at least 20-25 years and the country's population at that time to ensure smooth development and avert future complexities.
“Whenever you [authorities concerned] take up any plan, you'll have to consider what would be the population in the next 20 to 25 years and what would be the extent of economic activities and our needs. Now we have a mindset of thinking about the present context, but we will have to think with farsightedness to avoid future complexities,” she said.
The PM was speaking at a meeting on the newly formed Mymensingh division at her office.
Hasina said whenever any new township is built, there should be enough provisions for water bodies and water reservoirs so that water is easily found in case of any fire incident, waterlogging problem can be addressed and the environment can be protected.
The premier told the meeting that she already gave specific directives to keep provisions of water bodies or water reservoirs while establishing economic zones and townships across the country.
The country's population now stands at 16 crore, and there is a need for decentralisation of power further to reach the services to the common people, she added.
She said once Dhaka was a big division of 17 districts, and its periphery has been trimmed by creating the new Mymensingh division. “Perhaps, Dhaka Division would be further trimmed in future.”
Citing the example of a fire incident in the city's Bashundhara City shopping complex a couple of years back, she said firefighters had to bring water from the swimming pool of Sonargaon Hotel to douse the flames.
Whenever any residential area is created, there must be lakes or ponds so that the rainwater can be harvested, she observed.
Hasina said soon after the country's independence, the Father of the Nation had initiated a process to turn all the mohokumas into districts to render more services to people through decentralisation of power.
Once the necessary divisional infrastructures are established in Mymensingh, it would be much easier to reach services to the common people, she stated.
“We want to further strengthen the local government and in order to achieve this goal, it is essential to decentralise power.”
The PM said a modern and nice city will be established on the other side of the Brahmaputra in Mymensingh.
Referring to her decision of constructing new office buildings and other establishments in the newly formed divisions like Rangpur and Sylhet, she said such decisions have been proved appropriate.
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Religious Affairs Minister Matiur Rahman and State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam attended the meeting.
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