Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday pledged to complete construction of Bangladesh’s Padma bridge by 2018 saying the bridge would be a reality during the present tenure of her government.

“River training and construction work of the main Padma bridge will begin at the same time and construction work of the dream project would be completed by 2018,” she said.

The prime minister was addressing a rally after inauguration of several projects at her ancestral home at Tungipara in Gopalganj district yesterday. She reached there in the morning in a day-long visit. The Gopalganj district administration arranged the rally.

Without mentioning name of any person or organisation, Hasina said: “They spread slander against us of corruption in this project. We challenged it, and now it has been proved that their blame was baseless and intentional.”

She said: “The allegation against our government with respect to the Padma bridge was a conspiracy against us. So we rejected their financial offer and declared construction of the bridge with our own
resources.”

The PM said: “There is a section of people in the country who don’t like any of our activities. They always try to find a fault or imperfection in our activities.”

She said television channels and air-conditioned rooms are their preferable places from where they vent their criticism against us. “We have allowed those private television channels and helped keep them alive through providing uninterrupted power supply,” she said.

“They have excessive desire for power, but have no quality of gaining public support,” she said categorising them as the friends and bootlickers of the anti-liberation force and ghosts for Yahya Khan (Pakistani president before 1971 Bangladesh liberation war).

Expressing her firm determination to make Bangladesh a self-dependent country the prime minister said: “We would certainly stand on our own feet and build the nation as a modern, educated nation. We would not beg from others.”

Prime Minister Hasina said Bangladesh’s southern part had been neglected for a long time. Her government has taken pragmatic initiative for development of the region.

In this regard she pointed out about construction of the Paira Bandar, a naval base and establishing a division of Bangladesh army in the southern part.

 

 

 

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