PM seeks vote pledging scenic Dhaka

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday solicited votes for Awami League candidates from Dhaka city dwellers in forthcoming national elections to keep the party in power for building a modern capital.
‘We have multifaceted plans to build Dhaka as a scenic and livable city for every citizen and ensure availability of all civic amenities, development of the commuting system and enhancement of its beauty,’ she said.
‘If elected, we will construct an elevated ring-road around Dhaka and the survey is going on for the underground metro rail to make the city free from traffic congestion,’ she added.
Sheikh Hasina was addressing her first electioneering meeting in the capital organised by Dhaka North unit of Awami League on the Gulshan Youth Club grounds in support of Awami League candidates in eight parliamentary constituencies of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad under Dhaka North City Corporation.
Sheikh Hasina said that her government had resolved the acute crisis of water and electricity in the capital and the country was doing well after her party was elected in the 2008 elections.
All roads in Dhaka were in dilapidated condition when her party took office in 2009, Sheikh Hasina said adding that the city had also been reeling from the problems of mugging, terrorism and extremism.
The prime minister said that the Awami League government had resolved the problems one after another after taking office. 
The city was now free from load-shedding and water crisis, she said.
‘The foremost goal of our government is to change the fortune of the people of Bangladesh, not to make our own fortunes,’ Sheikh Hasina said.
The Dhaka Medical College Hospital was once the only hospital that provided healthcare services for the citizens, she said. 
The Awami League government had established hospitals in every nook and corner of Dhaka to ensure access to modern healthcare services for its residents, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that her government had already taken up a project to build multi-storied buildings for people of the low and middle income group and slum dwellers to enhance their living conditions. 
They would be able to rent and live in flats on daily, weekly or monthly basis, she continued.
The prime minister said that her government had established eleven new schools and colleges in Dhaka. Many of the schools were nationalised and their infrastructures were improved, she added.
Pointing to the construction of many flyovers in the city, the prime minister said that work on the metro rail and elevated expressway had been launched. 
The elevated ring road would also be constructed around Dhaka city, she added.
Dhaka had been divided into two parts and all unions of Gulshan, Banani and parts of Dhaka North were brought under the Dhaka North City Corporation to allow the residents to enjoy all the civic facilities, she said.
With Dhaka North City unit president of Awami League AKM Rahmat Ullah in the chair, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Awami League presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, mayor of Dhaka South Sayeed Khokan, Awami League backed mayor candidate of DNCC Atiqul Islam, central party leader Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Juba League chairman Omar Faruk and central leaders of the party Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Bahauddin Nasim and Abdur Rahman.
Sheikh Hasina introduced the candidates of eight constituencies under the Dhaka North City Corporation. They were AKM Rahmat Ullah (Dhaka 11), Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal (Dhaka 12), Sadek Khan (Dhaka 13), Aslamul Haq (Dhaka 14), Kamal Ahmed Majumder (Dhaka 15), Elias Mollah (Dhaka 16) and Akbar Hossain Pathan (Dhaka 17) and Sahara Khatun (Dhaka 18).
Sheikh Hasina said that Dhaka should be made more attractive as many foreign and local people travelled to the capital for various purposes, particularly in search of employment opportunities.
In this regard, the prime minister pointed out the development of Hatirjheel at the heart of Dhaka and digging of a 100-feet wide canal along the 300-Feet Road from Kuril.
Power distribution system and power substations in the capital would be constructed underground to protect the supply lines from storm, cyclone or any natural disaster, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that people had achieved independence and the right to speak in their mother tongue by voting for boat, the election symbol of Awami League. 
The country and lives of every person was moving towards prosperity as they had voted for Awami League in 2008 and 2014, she said.
Every citizen was enjoying the benefits of the socio-economic development that had taken place in the country under the AL government, she said.
‘Earlier, a day labourer was able to buy only 3 to 4 kilograms of rice with his daily income. Now, he can buy 8 to 10 kg of rice as his purchasing power has increased,’ she said.
Hasina said that Bangladesh was no more a nation of beggars and the country was now self-sufficient in many areas, including food production.
Sheikh Hasina said that the pace of development should be continued and extremism, terrorism and drug abuse should be dealt with strictly.
She recalled the extremist attack at Holy Artisan Hotel in Gulshan which had claimed the lives of many foreign nationals. 
After the incident, she said, the Awami League government had uprooted extremism from the country with an iron hand.
The prime minister said that her government had taken up plans to set up 100 special economic zones in the country where more than 10.25 million people would be employed alongside boosting the country’s economy.
‘Awami League didn’t open a Hawa Bhaban to indulge in corruption, and Awami League didn’t eat up the orphans’ money,’ she said and described Bangladesh Nationalist Party as the ‘symbol of corruption’ and Awami League as the ‘icon of development’.
Khaleda Zia was now in jail for misappropriating the orphans’ money. Awami League had not lodged the case against her but those whom she had favoured most sued her on the charges, the prime minister said.

Several thousand people attend an election rally organised by ruling Awami League at Gulshan Youth Club playground in Dhaka on Friday. — New Age photo

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net