Dhaka, Apr 20 (UNB) - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said certain people responsible for the city’s power system deliberately stop electricity supply in many areas to tarnish the image of the government.
“Many times load shedding is done unnecessarily. For example, electricity supply is stopped just before prayer time when there is no need for load shedding,” she said.
The Prime Minister hinted at the sinister design while addressing the opening function of the extended Bijoy-Sarani-Tejgaon industrial area road and railway bypass this (Tuesday) morning.
State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan, local lawmaker Asaduzzaman Khan and RAJUK chairman engineer Md. Nurul Huda also spoke at the function, chaired by Housing and Public Works Secretary MA Hannan.
Expressing her sympathy with the fellow-countrymen including the city dwellers for their sufferings from the power shortage, Sheikh Hasina said the government has already come to know about some incidents where power supply was stopped unnecessarily in the name of load shedding.
She directed the Power Division and other departments concerned to go for whirlwind visits to the power stations and sub-stations in the city to identify the saboteurs and take stern action.
“Anyone caught red handed will be arrested and sacked permanently from the job,” the Prime Minister said.
Some harmful activities are also going on in city water supply system, she said, and cautioned that the government will not tolerate any such activities.
She said the Awami League government has the misfortune that when coming to power it has to face severe electricity crisis mainly created by the previous governments.
“When we came to power in 1996 the total power generation was only 1600 MW, which in the next few years had been extended to 4300 MW. But then in the last seven years not a single MW of power was added to the national grid.”
The Prime Minister said now the present government has to meet the production gap of the last seven years and at the same time, has to meet the increasing daily demand of electricity.
“But through hectic efforts, Insha-Allah, we hope to remove the power crisis again like our previous term.”
She requested the people to be more economic in using electricity and water.
“I myself switch off the AC and electric bulbs whenever I come out of the room. But I know that many government officials hesitate to switch off the bulbs and ACs by themselves as they think it to be an act beneath their prestige. Such mentality has to be changed,” Hasina said.
Referring to the 1783-meter (including 669 meter railway overpass) extended Bijoy Sarani-Tejgaon industrial area link road, she said this new road will help significantly to reduce the huge traffic congestion in the capital city.
Specially, she said, movement of vehicular traffic from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Kalabagan, Lalmatia, Dhanmondi and Shyamoli areas to Gulshan, Uttara, Baridhara and Tejgaon areas will be much more easier and comfortable through the Tejgaon-Bijoy Sarani link road.
The Prime Minister noted that the present traffic congestion in the capital is nothing but the result of lack of vision of the past governments.
“Since the liberation, in the last 39 years, Awami League was in power for only 9/10 years. If the other governments which were in power for long periods would take effective and planned initiatives, the present situation in the traffic management would not prevail,” she said.
Hasina in her speech reiterated the government’s plan to permanently remove traffic congestion from Dhaka city and turn the capital into a city of smooth, fast-moving traffic.
She said the government would introduce commuter train service between capital Dhaka and the adjoining districts.
“During our last tenure we introduced commuter train service between Dhaka and Brahmanbaria. This time also we have a plan to start the service from all other district cities adjacent to the capital.
“Once the commuter train service is introduced, people from the districts like Tangail, Mymensingh and Gazipur won’t have to live in the capital for their livelihoods. They will come in the morning and return to their village homes by evening.
The Prime Minister further said the government will also take measures to improve the waterways surrounding the capital city.
“If we can establish a water transport system using the four rivers surrounding the capital, it will create another way of easy and comfortable transport for the people from their respective towns to the capital.”
The other ambitious projects she spelt out included construction of elevated expressway, subway, flyovers and overpasses.
She said at least six overpasses need to be established on urgent basis over the city’s rail crossings for the sake of smooth traffic system.
The Prime Minister strongly directed the RAJUK not to permit any construction project in the city which will be submitted without keeping spaces for children’s park, playground and parking places.
She also ordered for taking immediate steps to preserve the ponds, canals and other water bodies in the city.
“Our Dhaka has almost turned into an inhabitable city. As if the capital has become a slum of concrete. If we all do not try with heart and soul, we cannot save our capital,” Hasina said.
She said the government is soon going to start construction of 50,000 flats in the capital city while construction works of flyovers in Kuril and Gulistan areas of the city will also start soon.
The Prime Minister also directed the WASA and RAJUK to work on how to introduce separate water supply lines - one for drinking and another for domestic uses including car wash.
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