Rajshahi city has become green, beautiful and enlightened at present amid massive infrastructural developments fully supported by the present government during the last couple of years.
 
Broaden streets, eye-catching street lighting at night, cleaned atmosphere, road dividers with green trees, plants and crafts as well as improved civic amenities have made the city attractive enormously.
 
Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) AHM Khairuzzaman Liton told BSS that an east-west connecting road has been constructed from Biman crossing to Choddopaya crossing via Chhotobangram, Meherchandi, Budhpara and Mohanpur at a cost of around Taka 189.35 crore.
 
In addition to construction of footpaths on both sides of the 6.793-kilometer road, various need-based modern infrastructures, including a flyover on railway crossing, a bridge, eight culverts and median, were constructed.
 
The newly constructed four-lane road has been playing a significant role towards mitigating the gradually mounting traffic jams in the metropolis.
 
Mayor Liton said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given a project worth around Taka 3,000 crore and its implementation works are progressing fast in the city for its cherished development at present.
 
Two potential roads are being elevated to four lanes as part of the Taka 2,993-crore project aimed at making the movement of both vehicles and people quick and smooth.
 
RCC is turning the Bilsimla Railway crossing to City Hat road to 80-feet wide along with a four-foot-wide road divider with an outlay of around Taka 44.92 crore.
 
On both sides of the 3.532-kilometer road, a 44-feet road, 12-feet wide drain and footpath and 20-feet road for the slow-moving vehicles are also being constructed.
 
Another dilapidated 4.17-kilometer road from Naodapara bus terminal to Bhadra Railway crossing is being elevated to a smart street.
 
Liton said a 2.5-kilometer road from Alupatty crossing to Talaimary crossing has been elevated to four-lane. Decorated and pedestrian-friendly footpaths have been constructed on both sides of the road with setting up colourful road lights.
 
Island has been beautified through transplanting decorative and ornamental flower plants.
 
 
Two midtown roads from Upashahar to Sonadighi crossing and Malopara crossing to Sagarpara crossing have been widened, costing around Taka 126.40 crore bringing an epoch-making change in terms of the city's communication.
 
Another road from Bilsimla railway crossing to Kasiadanga crossing has been elevated to four-lane under the city's important roads development project. Side by side with the four-lane, drain, footpath and bicycle lane were constructed along the road.
 
Erection of butterfly road light draws the attention of the passerby in the night amazingly.
 
The city corporation has so far installed 1,654 decorated and eye-catching lights on 695 poles in five separate roads and streets with length of around 21 kilometers.
 
As a whole, the modern road lighting has brought happiness to the city dwellers and other beneficiaries.
 
Mayor Liton said the energy saving lights at Drishtinandan are being turned on and off automatically by the auto-logic controller, adding they also have plans for bringing the newly constructed and other widened roads under the modern lighting system in the days to come.
 
53.29-kilometer roads were also concretized together with construction of 36.72-kilometer drains. Carpeting on the 4.32-kilometer new road and renovation of the 1.42-kilometer road were done.
 
The city corporation has implemented drainage and approach road construction projects contributing a lot towards freeing the city from water-logging besides making pedestrian movement easy.
 
Problems related to unfit and narrow sections of the present drains and its low-sewerage capacity were removed. All the culverts were widened besides removing the silts from the base of the drains to enhance the sewerage capacity.
 
Chief Engineer Nur Islam said the physical infrastructure development were implemented for developing the overall environmental health system through building an effective and permanent water sewerage system in the city.
 
Professor Bidhan Chandra Das, a retired teacher at Rajshahi University, expressed his gratitude to the government, particularly Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for extending support towards making the Rajshahi city beautiful.

Source: BSS

Trawler sinks with 29 fishermen in rough sea.They were rescued by the Coast Guard after receiving information on the National Emergency Service 999.

This information was confirmed by National Emergency Service 999 Media and Public Relations Officer Police Inspector Anwar Sattar on Thursday (September 21) afternoon.

He said that, a fishing trawler named 'Rahmat'i Elahi' went to Mayer Char area of ​​Patuakhali district with 29 fishermen on the night of September 15 from Sheikh's Khal Bazar area of ​​Banskhali, Chittagong.

On the night of September 17, the engine broke down and floated.On September 20, around 3 pm, the trawler started sinking in an area called Char Tufania.

Later at around 12:00 PM the National Emergency Service 999 was informed and the Coast Guard Security Station Andharmanik, Members of BCG Station Nizampur and BCG Outpost Rangabali Station carried out operations and rescued the fishermen safely.

The Cox's Bazar Development Authority (CoxDA) is set to prepare a master plan to turn Cox's Bazar into a modern and smart city, an official said.

"We're working to devise the master plan for 20 years from 2023 to 2043 to transform Cox's Bazar into a smart city as its formal work will start next month," said Chairman of the CoxDA, Commodore (rtd) Muhammed Nurul Absar.

He said this while exchanging views with print, electronic and online media at the CoxDA headquarters here on Saturday.

Prime Minister's Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Jahid Tusher spoke at the function.

A detailed area plan is also being formulated to build an attractive and environment friendly Cox's Bazar that houses the longest sandy sea beach in the world.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier asked the authorities concerned to prepare a master plan to build Cox's Bazar as a smart city with ensuring all modern facilities and keeping unharmed the natural beauty of the coastline.

The premier at several programmes has expressed her desire to transform Cox's Bazar into a global hub of tourism and aviation.

To pave the way, the government is building a dedicated tourist place for foreigners, state of the art international airport with having the longest and only marine runway in the country, making infrastructure development and developing proper connectivity with installing rail line.

The CoxDA chairman said they are formulating the master plan in line with the directives of the prime minister.

The master plan includes formulating strategic policy plan, detailed area plan of all the upazilas and beach areas of Cox's Bazar (690.67 square kilometer) and tourism and regional development plans.

Disaster management, preparing Smart City Model for Cox's Bazar, transport management, environment management, drainage and sanitation management, utilities and socio-economic development and sectoral plans are also the key features of the master plan.

To support the Vision 2041 announced by the Awami League government to turn Bangladesh into a developed country with high income, the CoxDA has planned to undertake several development projects.

The projects are: cable car installation from Cox's Bazar to Sabrong and Cox's Bazar to Moheshkhali, introducing water sports and other amusement facilities on the sea beach, indoor amusement park, CoxDA Marina Bay Resort, CoxDA Condominium project, Eco-resort at Moheshkhali, protecting lives and boosting marine tourism, preparing a roadmap to tap potential of the blue economy, taking renewable energy project, installation of central sewage treatment plant (STP), water treatment plan and introducing sea-plane, cruise ship and helicopter service and preparing integrated coastal zone management plan.

The CoxDA chairman said they are working to set up central STP in Cox's Bazar to save the Bay of Bengal from being dead zone by sewage as huge amount of garbage goes to the sea.

"Once the projects are completed, we can immensely contribute to achieve the targets of the sustainable development goals," he said.

He added that they have already completed several projects that include reforming and rehabilitating Cox's Bazar's traditional Laldighi, Goldighi, markets and ponds as well as construction of multi-storey building for CoxDA.

The ongoing development schemes of the CoxDA include building residential flats for CoxDA, sculpture and modern passenger shed at Moheshkhali, and reforming and expansion of the main road of Cox's Bazar (Holiday Crossing-Bazatghata-Larpara Bus Stand).

A Hanif Paribahan bus from Dhaka to Barisal overturned while overtaking on the Dhaka-Banga Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Expressway. The accident took place at a place called Maligram of Bhanga upazila around 12 noon on Saturday. The supervisor of Hanif Paribahan was killed on the spot.

His identity is not yet known.

Additional SP of Madaripur Highway Police Imran Ali Imran said that it was reported from the passengers that the bus of Hanif Paribahan overturned due to overtaking while trying to catch up with a vehicle of Dola Paribahan. So far I have received the news of the death of the bus supervisor in this accident. His identity is not yet known. I am on the spot.

Other injured passengers have been sent to various hospitals for treatment.

 At least 14 people were killed and around 23 others injured as a passenger bus fell into a road-side pond on Khulna-Barishal highway near Dhansiri Union Parishad in Sadar upazila of Jhalakathi district this morning, police said.

"The bodies of seven women, five men and two children were so far recovered", said sub inspector Shakhawt Hossain of Jhalakathi police station.

The driver of the speedy bus of Bashar Smrity Paribhan with 60/70 passengers on board lost control over the steering while giving side to an auto-rickshaw, resulting in flipped into a roadside pond at about 10:00am, he said.

Hearing the news, police and fire service personnel rushed to the spot and started the salvation work with the help of the local people.

"The rescue operation is going on," Shakhawt said.