Draft Sixth Five-Year Plan
Dev of silk, tourism in Rajshahi region urged
Demand for capital dredging of Padma
Speakers at a discussion here yesterday said proper strategies for reducing corruption and bureaucratic tangles as well as for establishing rule of law must be adopted in the sixth five year plan to achieve desired development.
They suggested political unity for development and continuation of development programmes, more financial relations with neighbouring countries, and controlling population growth.
They also demanded of the government more budgetary allocation in education and steps to cut regional disparity, funds for capital dredging of Padma river in Rajshahi, development of silk and tourism sectors and preservation of archaeological sites in the region.
Rajshahi University (RU) teachers, administrative officials from different districts, political and business leaders, industrialists and media personnel spoke at the Rajshahi divisional participatory discussion on the draft of sixth five-year plan at Nanking Darbar Hall in the city.
Speaking as the chief guest, Rajshahi City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said development is being hampered due to excessive growth of population.
“Due to lack of effective birth control measures, poor people are taking maximum children based on the notion that they will look after them in their old ages, but their children finally do not take care them due to financial constraints.”
He put emphasis on capital dredging of Padma river in Rajshahi and building more business relations with neighbouring Indian states.
Industrialist Sadar Ali said silk industry is now in disarray due to wrong policies of the Silk Federation, Sericulture Board and Silk Research Institute. He suggested a uniform policy to revive the silk industry to generate employment in rural areas and reduce pressure on urban areas.
RU teacher Dilip Kumar said the country will have to relocate some seven crore of its population from the coastal areas if those areas are submerged within 2050 as per scientific calculations. He suggested imposing taxes on population growth.
Jahir Raihan, additional district magistrate of Sirajganj, said no target of development could be achieved without ensuring rule of law.
Pointed out various development programmes in power and information technology sector, RU teacher Moazzem Hossain Khan said much of the government's successes in the programmes are being spoiled for bureaucratic tangles and corruption.
Joypurhat DC Ashok Kumar Biswas stressed the need for more allocation for checking environmental pollution as all sugar mills of the country are polluting rivers and water bodies due to avoidance of waste disposal expenses.
Planning Commission member Dr Shamsul Alam chaired the discussion and said the sixth five-year plan include strategies for establishing good governance, environmental preservation, industrialisation in Rajshahi region as well as development of agriculture and rural economy and social security.
He said the draft plan has targeted for attaining GDP at 7.3 percent every year and at 8 percent at the end of the plan. He said the plan has targeted to reducing poverty rate to 22 percent from current 31.5 percent.
Lawmaker Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury of Naogaon, Rajshahi divisional commissioner Abdul Mannan, RU Economics department teacher Sanat Kumar Saha, and politician Mohammad Ali Kamal among others spoke.
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