Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee on Friday questioned the opposition’s planned Dhaka-Chattogram long march, saying six months was not enough to complete all development work.
“Six months have passed since we took responsibility. Have 20,000 kilometers of canals been re-excavated within this period? Is there any scope to say that all the work has been completed? The opposition should understand this. They will bring out a long march within just six months,” he said.
The minister was speaking after inaugurating a canal-cleaning program at Rahmatkhali Canal in Lakshmipur municipality around 11:30am. The district units of Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal and Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal organized the program.
Anee said the government does not believe in politics centered on photo opportunities.
The 11-party alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is scheduled to hold a Dhaka-Chattogram long march on Saturday to press for various demands, including state reforms, a democratic environment, resolution of the ongoing gas and power crisis, and fulfilment of the aspirations of the July 2024 mass uprising.
Referring to BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Anee said: “He is showing us a dream. I do not want to live in a dream alone; I want to turn that dream into reality.”
He said the government has taken up an initiative to re-excavate 20,000 kilometers of canals and has already begun implementing the program.
Anee also said social activities could help make society free of drugs, adding that the main goal of the social movement is to create a drug-free environment.
He alleged that influential people who benefited from the practices of the past 17 years are still pulling the strings and called for legal action against those involved in drug-related activities.
The program was moderated by district BNP Joint Convener Advocate Hasibur Rahman.
District BNP Member Secretary and Zila Parishad Administrator Sahab Uddin Sabu, Bangladesh Football Federation Vice-President Wahid Uddin Chowdhury Happy, district Swechchhasebak Dal President Advocate Mohsin Kabir Swapan, Secretary Harunur Rashid and Krishak Dal leader Mostafizur Rahman Sohel, among others, were present.