Night of sorrow is over

PM tells ex-enclave dwellers

Word of the PM arriving at Fulbari Upazila got around and by the time her helicopter landed around 10.30am yesterday, the field near the proposed girls’ high school at Kalirhaat Bazaar overflowed with people, frantically cheering, their voices choked with emotion as most of them could not believe their eyes that the PM had finally arrived, ending their 68 year wait.
The visit kicked-off with Hasina opening 643 power connections to residents of Dashiar Charra who had been deprived of electricity for 68 long years. She also distributed five solar home systems before beginning her speech.
Calling the people of Dashiar Charra “flowers” she said, “Dashiar Charra is no longer an exclave. It is a part of Fulbari Upazila. I have come to Fulbari. Fulbari is now a garden of flowers, and you are the flowers in that garden.”
“The night of sorrow is over, and you have marched towards the path enlightened with new sunlight. Your march forward will continue,” she told the people of Dashiar Charra.
Hasina said she wanted to visit the former exclave for long but could not. “You know why. You didn’t have any identity then. Now you don’t have that problem. You are no longer people of an exclave; you are now citizens of Bangladesh,” she told the gathering.

Had Bangabandhu been alive, Dashiar Charra would not have waited for so long for an identity. “No other government except the Awami League has tried to address the problems of exclave people,” stressed Hasina. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation with most of his family members in 1975, military rulers Ziaur Rahman and H.M. Ershad and later, Khaleda Zia, did not take any step neither did they dare to discuss with India implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA); she alleged. It was her government which, 21 years after assuming office in 1996, took the initiative to put an end to the suffering of exclave people by implementing LBA; she emphasised.
“Not only Dashiar Chhara but also all former exclave dwellers of Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh and Nilphamari are no longer exclave dwellers. I have come to Fulbari and you are a bunch of newly-blossomed flowers that we have got. You are our people and our part, and the 68-year-long deprivation has gone. The night of sorrow is over, and you are marching towards the path of enlightenment. Your march will continue forward. May your life become beautiful and successful,” asserted the Bangladesh PM. She extended her sincere thanks to the Modi government; each and every member of the Indian parliament for casting their votes unanimously in favour of the Bill on LBA; and governments of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur.
Hasina spoke of various steps being taken and projects being implemented by her government for betterment of the people of exclaves. Five temporary police centres had been set up to avoid untoward incidents and work was underway to set up three government primary schools and community clinics alongside enlisting people under various projects and social safety schemes. Projects like “One House One Farm” and a new integrated Union Parishad Complex including a health centre were on the anvil.
“So much time has already gone. We are very sincere about addressing your long deprivation piled up over the years… We have been working tirelessly so that you people get a better life,” concluded the PM before heading to Kurigram on what was her fourth visit to the place after 1998, 2000 and 2010.
Addressing a huge gathering at Kurigram Government College, she said her government will establish a university in Kurigram and a government college in every Upazila of the district. Hasina noted that Kurigram was once regarded as a pocket of “Monga” or “Kuiragram” but “Monga” had disappeared from the lexicon since her government assumed office in 2009. Referring to Bangladesh’s present power generation capacity i.e. 14,000 MW, with 75 per cent of its people brought under power coverage, she said the day was not far when every household would have electricity. Renewing her resolve to build a mid-income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041, she said, “All people of Bangladesh will get a better life, while Bangladesh will move forward in the global arena, keeping pace with other countries.”
Among the 31 development projects inaugurated by Hasina at Kurigram were: Integrated Seed Cold Storage at Trimohoni; Chilmari Fire Service and Civil Defence Station; Razarhat Agri-weather Surveillance Centre; 50-bed hospitals at Nageswari Upazila Health Complex and Razibpur and Academic Building of Razibpur Women’s College.
She also laid the foundation stones of projects such as: the Science Building of Kurigram Government College; Kurigram Poura Aditorium; Kurigram District Stadium; Nageswari Degree College; Razibpur Fire Service and Civil Defence Station; and Namazer Char Police Investigation Centre at Ulipur.
The PM was accompanied by Power and Energy Adviser Dr Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury; State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu; Deputy Speaker of the House Adv. Fazle Rabbi Mia; Former Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni; Opposition Chief Whip Md Tajul Islam Chowdhury; Principal Secretary to the PM Md Abul Kalam Azad; and local AL leader Golam Rabbani Sarker on her day-long visit.

Night of sorrow is over

PM tells ex-enclave dwellers

Word of the PM arriving at Fulbari Upazila got around and by the time her helicopter landed around 10.30am yesterday, the field near the proposed girls high school at Kalirhaat Bazaar overflowed with people, frantically cheering, their voices choked with emotion as most of them could not believe their eyes that the PM had finally arrived, ending their 68 year wait. The visit kicked-off with Hasina opening 643 power connections to residents of Dashiar Charra who had been deprived of electricity for 68 long years. She also distributed five solar home systems before beginning her speech. Calling the people of Dashiar Charra flowers she said, Dashiar Charra is no longer an exclave. It is a part of Fulbari Upazila. I have come to Fulbari. Fulbari is now a garden of flowers, and you are the flowers in that garden. The night of sorrow is over, and you have marched towards the path enlightened with new sunlight. Your march forward will continue, she told the people of Dashiar Charra. Hasina said she wanted to visit the former exclave for long but could not. You know why. You didnt have any identity then. Now you dont have that problem. You are no longer people of an exclave; you are now citizens of Bangladesh, she told the gathering. Had Bangabandhu been alive, Dashiar Charra would not have waited for so long for an identity. No other government except the Awami League has tried to address the problems of exclave people, stressed Hasina. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation with most of his family members in 1975, military rulers Ziaur Rahman and H.M. Ershad and later, Khaleda Zia, did not take any step neither did they dare to discuss with India implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA); she alleged. It was her government which, 21 years after assuming office in 1996, took the initiative to put an end to the suffering of exclave people by implementing LBA; she emphasised. Not only Dashiar Chhara but also all former exclave dwellers of Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh and Nilphamari are no longer exclave dwellers. I have come to Fulbari and you are a bunch of newly-blossomed flowers that we have got. You are our people and our part, and the 68-year-long deprivation has gone. The night of sorrow is over, and you are marching towards the path of enlightenment. Your march will continue forward. May your life become beautiful and successful, asserted the Bangladesh PM. She extended her sincere thanks to the Modi government; each and every member of the Indian parliament for casting their votes unanimously in favour of the Bill on LBA; and governments of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. Hasina spoke of various steps being taken and projects being implemented by her government for betterment of the people of exclaves. Five temporary police centres had been set up to avoid untoward incidents and work was underway to set up three government primary schools and community clinics alongside enlisting people under various projects and social safety schemes. Projects like One House One Farm and a new integrated Union Parishad Complex including a health centre were on the anvil. So much time has already gone. We are very sincere about addressing your long deprivation piled up over the years We have been working tirelessly so that you people get a better life, concluded the PM before heading to Kurigram on what was her fourth visit to the place after 1998, 2000 and 2010. Addressing a huge gathering at Kurigram Government College, she said her government will establish a university in Kurigram and a government college in every Upazila of the district. Hasina noted that Kurigram was once regarded as a pocket of Monga or Kuiragram but Monga had disappeared from the lexicon since her government assumed office in 2009. Referring to Bangladeshs present power generation capacity i.e. 14,000 MW, with 75 per cent of its people brought under power coverage, she said the day was not far when every household would have electricity. Renewing her resolve to build a mid-income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041, she said, All people of Bangladesh will get a better life, while Bangladesh will move forward in the global arena, keeping pace with other countries. Among the 31 development projects inaugurated by Hasina at Kurigram were: Integrated Seed Cold Storage at Trimohoni; Chilmari Fire Service and Civil Defence Station; Razarhat Agri-weather Surveillance Centre; 50-bed hospitals at Nageswari Upazila Health Complex and Razibpur and Academic Building of Razibpur Womens College. She also laid the foundation stones of projects such as: the Science Building of Kurigram Government College; Kurigram Poura Aditorium; Kurigram District Stadium; Nageswari Degree College; Razibpur Fire Service and Civil Defence Station; and Namazer Char Police Investigation Centre at Ulipur. The PM was accompanied by Power and Energy Adviser Dr Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury; State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu; Deputy Speaker of the House Adv. Fazle Rabbi Mia; Former Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni; Opposition Chief Whip Md Tajul Islam Chowdhury; Principal Secretary to the PM Md Abul Kalam Azad; and local AL leader Golam Rabbani Sarker on her day-long visit.