Hasina govt deprives northern region
Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku has said the government is preparing an integrated plan to address infrastructure gaps, slow industrialisation and unemployment in five northern districts
He said this at a reminar on Satuday.
The minister accused the ousted Awami League government of deliberately depriving Bangladesh’s northern region of development.
He alleged that the former government distorted history and neglected the region out of political hostility, leaving it behind in infrastructure, industrialisation and employment.
“Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is now working to rescue the country from the fragile economic condition left by the Awami League,” Tuku said.
He made the remarks as chief guest at a seminar titled “Development Perspective of Five Northern Districts: Challenges, Prospects and the Way Forward” at Mom Inn in Bogura’s Thengamara area. Tuku said Bogura, Sirajganj, Joypurhat, Naogaon and Gaibandha had suffered from development disparities, weak infrastructure, slow industrial growth and a prolonged employment crisis for nearly two decades.
He also criticised Jamaat, saying it had failed to gain public support despite making what he described as false promises, while voters had chosen the BNP. The Bogura History Study and Research Welfare Organisation arranged the seminar to identify the region’s major challenges, explore its economic potential and formulate an integrated development plan.
The event was chaired by Dr CM Idris, a veteran intellectual from Bogura.
Tuku said the 1971 Liberation War had been fought against discrimination, but alleged that the Awami League created greater inequality after taking power.
He also said the government planned to add 10,000 megawatts of electricity generation capacity over the next five years to eliminate the power deficit. A nationwide solar panel initiative was also being prepared, he added.
State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam and State Minister for Public Administration Md Abdul Bari attended the seminar as special guests.
Around 25 professors and researchers from different universities and educational institutions participated in the event, moderated by Dr Motiur Rahman and Syed Fazle Rabbi Dollar.
Gaibandha-1 lawmaker Majedur Rahman called for the formation of a Bogura division to promote administrative decentralisation.
