We applaud Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for calling on district commissioners to strengthen our rural economy to reduce the pressure on cities.
Decentralisation of facilities is what Dhaka, in particular, desperately needs. But for that to happen, employment opportunities must be created elsewhere.
This was only one of the prime minister’s 23-point directive to DCs, but speaks most immediately to the unsustainable congestion problem Bangladesh’s cities are afflicted by.
Urban areas, especially Dhaka, cannot keep bearing the weight of so much economic activity -- it harms our quality of life, and threatens to undo the economic progress that has been made over the years.
It is time to create opportunities in rural areas as well, to take the pressure off the areas which are at breaking point.