Connect villages with info highway: President

17 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Unb, Dhaka

President Zillur Rahman speaks at a function marking the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city yesterday.Photo: PID

President Zillur Rahman yesterday said villages across the country will have to be connected with the information technology highway so it can be a bridge between village and town and between village and globe. “Without confining the information technology within the well-off people it should be expanded for all,” he said at a function marking the World Telecommuni-cations and Information Society Day (WTISD) at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the morning. The president said people living in rural areas will be a one and inseparable entity of the global population. Praising this year's theme -- Better City, Better Life with ICT -- as significant, he said the people's livelihood along with improved urban life must be developed by using the information technology. Zillur said the entire world has become a global village with the unprecedented development of the information technology, bringing closer the people across the world. “Exchange of information has become easier. A horizon of opportunity has been opened up before the people of the world. We must utilise this opportunity to improve our socio-economic situation,” he told the function. The president expressed his happiness over the expansion of utilisation of the ICT at different spheres of national life, which benefits people of different segments of society including students, teachers, professionals, business persons and researchers. He hoped that private initiatives alongside the government will accelerate the implementation of the vision of 'Digital Bangladesh'. Post and Telecommunications Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafesh Osman, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on Post and Telecommunications Ministry Hasanul Huq Inu, Post and Telecommunications Secretary Sunil Kanti Bose and BTRC Chairman Maj Gen Zia Ahmed also spoke at the function. Rajiuddin said Bangladesh will install its own satellite within five years, and the government has plans to make low cost laptops and mobile phone sim cards. He said the internet facility will be expanded to the union level so the union parishad chairmen can communicate directly with the ministers on various important issues.