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Government is working on construction of Navaran-Satkhira-Munshiganj railway: Bangladesh Railway Minister
Tariqul Islam, Bangladesh,17 April 2023:
Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan has commented that the government is working eagerly on the construction of Navaron-Satkhira-Munshiganj railway. The minister said this when a delegation of Satkhira district association met to include and implement the construction of Navaran-Satkhira-Munshiganj railway line in the budget of the fiscal year 2023-24 at the Ministry of Railways at 11:00 on Monday (April 17). The minister also said that the railway line of the dream Padma Bridge has been inaugurated. Now the government is working to establish railway lines in every district of South Bengal.
Satkhira District Association Dhaka General Secretary Iqbal Masud, Social Welfare Affairs Secretary Safiqul Islam and Executive Member Amirul Islam Madhu were present in the delegation. At this time, the request letter was handed over on behalf of the association.
It should be noted that Satkhira is a district with no rail connection. About 23 lakh people live in Satkhira district. Road is the only means of transportation from this district to other parts of the country. The Sundarbans, shrimp resources and Indo-Bangladesh import-export (Bhomra land port) trade became increasingly important economically. Due to these reasons the only road as a means of communication has become busy. Besides, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to establish a railway line from Munshiganj in Shyamnagar to Navaron in Jessore for the people of Satkhira in a public meeting organized in Shyamnagar of Satkhira in July 2010 after Cyclone Aila in 2009. In order to implement this promise of the Prime Minister, various experiments were carried out, besides the feasibility study project for the construction of the railway line was completed. Already PDPP of two projects ‘Construction of broad gauge railway line from Navaran to Satkhira’ and construction of broad gauge railway line from Satkhira to Munshiganj’ have been formulated. According to the project, 98.42 km railway line with eight stations and two railway bridges is proposed.
On January 15, 2023, the Planning Minister approved in principle in the National Parliament. PDPPs have been sent to two ERDs to explore funding for the two projects. In the first phase, the necessary work was started at lightning speed. This initiative of the present government is an important initial step to fulfill the long-held expectations of Satkhira Basi. Which is part of the hopes and aspirations of people of all walks of life.
These two projects have been undertaken to strengthen the country’s connectivity with the Sundarbans. If the railway line is constructed from Navaron to Munshiganj via Satkhira, Satkhira will be economically strong and the import and export of Bhomra port will increase significantly, which will play an important role in the economic development of the country.
To improve the quality of life of Satkhira Basi deprived of communication facilities and to include the demand for the lives of the people of South-West Border District in the proposed budget of the year 2023-24 financial year and to speed up the implementation of construction of Navaran-Munsigagya railway.
