RCC mayor unveils multipurpose plan

19 July 2009, 17:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi

Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton on Saturday announced a 10-year multipurpose plan 'Vision 2018' to make the city a modern and tourist-friendly one and suitable for living by different income group people. Fighting corruption, ensuring better utility services, bringing transparency in implementing projects and reducing gap between the rich and the poor are some of the challenges they would face to see a prosperous city on the Padma River by 2018, the mayor said at a view exchange meeting with journalists at RCC conference room. The RCC mayor outlined different plans including initiative to dredge the Padma River, opening an industrial information centre for entrepreneurs, setting up two maternities, 10 health centres, agriculture and medical universities and several standard educational institutions including a women's cadet college in the city. The RCC has already started data entry works for implementing e-governance, he said. The authorities concerned will begin the project for setting up 280km gas pipelines in the city by November and start supplying natural gas to households by July next year. The work for setting up a 125MW coal-fired power plant at Katakhali is going on while a sweater factory will be opened in the city next month, said the mayor. Housing projects have been designed at Hatimkhan for Harijans, at Sreerampur and Barakuthi for slum people and in other areas for low-income and disabled people and rootless women. Construction of international standard hotels in the city, setting up of recreation spots on the Padma riverbank, children's playground and park, and community centre, industrial park, garments village and silk village are also in the plan. In honour of the martyrs of the Liberation War, the RCC will construct memorials on the mass graves at Bablatala and Talaimari. The government has allocated Tk 121 crore for development of the city this fiscal year, the mayor said.