Dhaka – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday put emphasis on taking a long-term plan to improve the living standard and livelihood of the people of the country’s deltaic region. “Bangladesh is a deltaic region where population density is much high. So, we need a far-reaching plan to further improve people’s standard of living and livelihood,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing a function arranged at the Prime Minister’s Office marking the presentation of the final draft of the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
After the programme, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.Planning Commission Member Dr Shamsul Alam made a PowerPoint presentation on the final draft of the plan.
He apprised the Prime Minister of various aspects and benefits of the plan, the press secretary said.
Sheikh Hasina stressed the importance of regular dredging of rivers and reopening of the closed river routes.
“The erosion of rivers like Padma, Jamuna, Meghna and Arial Khan is a common phenomenon in the country. The erosion takes place due to underwater shoals,” she said.
About the flood that the country experiences almost every year, the Prime Minister said there are both advantage and disadvantage of it. “The soil is recharged and there’s good yield due to deposition of silt following flood,” she said.
She also underlined the need for changing the places for extracting sand to check river erosion, and proper waste management.
Sheikh Hasina thanked Dr Shamsul Alam and his team for the PowerPoint presentation on the final draft of the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Engineer Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Water Resources Minister Anwar Hossain Manju, PM’s Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Moshiur Rahman, State Minister for Water Resources Nazrul Islam, PM’s Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman and secretaries concerned were present.UNB
