FROM PAGE 1

This was Tarique’s maiden visit to Bogura since he assumed office as the head of the government following the February 12 polls. During the visit, he attended a series of programmes.

The PM unveiled the plaque of Bogura City Corporation, upgrading the 150-year-old municipality to city corporation status, reports UNB.

It will be the 13th city corporation in the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, the PM said the long-standing demand of people has been fulfilled through the creation of the city corporation.

“Bogura must be turned into a model town. This cannot be done by the government alone; everyone’s cooperation is needed,” he said.

Earlier, the PM arrived at Bogura Circuit House by bus around 10:00am. His wife Zubaida Rahman was among his companions on this one-day tour.

Tarique also inaugurated an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign at Ziaur Rahman Gram Hospital in Bagbari of Gabtali upazila and distributed Family Cards among women at the Shaheed Zia Degree College ground. He launched the excavation work on the Chowkidah canal at Nasipur by cutting soil with a spade.

He visited his ancestral home “Zia Bari” in Bagbari in the afternoon.

At a rally, he said, “We want to introduce Family Cards and Farmers’ Cards for our people. We want to provide honorariums for imams and muezzins. We want to excavate canals, plant trees, and create jobs for young people at home and abroad. These critics have done nothing on any of these issues.”

He questioned the credibility of those misleading the public about the July charter, arguing that they never believed in the country’s independence or even its existence.

The PM assured the crowd that every promise made by the BNP to the people would be fulfilled.

Addressing local demands, he said construction of the Sirajganj-Bogura railway line was a top priority and would begin soon.

Describing Bogura and surrounding areas as major agricultural hubs, Tarique said he wanted to increase exports of agricultural products abroad.

He added that work would soon begin at Bogura University to introduce specialised departments in agriculture, engineering, and medicine.

He opened the “e-bail bond” system in seven more districts, including Bogura, on the District and Sessions Judge Court premises in the morning.

At the event, the PM said that after being freed from one and a half decades of fascist rule and exploitation, an accountable and democratic government has been established in the country through direct votes of the people, reports BSS.

“The people have regained their lost democratic political rights.”

Besides, he inaugurated the newly constructed building of the Bogura District Bar Association on the court premises.

Tarique said unless the rule of justice is established in the country through coordination among the three branches -- legislative, executive, and judiciary -- the benefits of citizens’ democratic rights will not be ensured.

Noting that the role of judges is key in establishing the rule of law, he said therefore, president Ziaur Rahman had opened the door to the independence of the country’s judiciary, which had been taken away through the fourth amendment of the constitution.

“But during the fascist regime, the judiciary was turned into a partisan court.

Tarique said the government is implementing the “e-bail bond” system to reduce harassment of people in the judicial process by establishing a corruption-free, transparent, and independent judicial system, as part of transforming judicial administration and judicial process into a fully electronic system and modernising the judiciary.

If the system can be introduced in all courts across the country, it would help establish justice by removing delays and discrimination in getting justice, he added.

Launching the second phase of the Family Card programme, the PM said his government would fund key welfare programmes, including Family Card and Farmers’ Card, by recovering money laundered during the previous regime.

“As we said before the election, we will work to stop the corruption that took place during the previous autocratic regime, when hundreds of crores of taka were laundered abroad and public wealth was stolen.”

[Our Bogura correspondent contributed to this report.]