Shawdesh Desk:

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on Monday Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the golden door of development in Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) region through implementation of the CHT Peace Accord.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the golden door of development by disseminating the message of peace in the remote hills,” he told a meeting on development of roads in three hilly districts and Cox’s Bazar through a videoconference from his official residence on parliament premises.

Quader, also the Awami League General Secretary, said most of the provisions of the CHT Peace Accord have already been implemented while the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is pledge-bound to implement the rest of the provisions of the treaty.

The government continued its efforts to resolve the longstanding land related issues, he added.

Mentioning that development and politics are not co-related to one another, he urged all irrespective of party affiliations and opinions not to hinder any development work rather to cooperate with the government efforts to continue the pace of current development for the welfare of the country.

The minister said the government is making its all-out strides to continue the development works through implementing different projects in the CHT areas keeping intact the unique lifestyle and livelihood of people of this region.

The government is spearheading road and infrastructural development in the three hilly districts for optimum utilization of the vast potential of enhancing revenue income from the areas, he added.

Quader said no other government in the past gave priority to the development in the hilly region rather they created unrest in the area and unleashed bloodstained conflicts.

With the implementation of CHT Peace Accord, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina brought the wave of peace and turned the remote areas into easily accessible ones, he added.

Under the supervision of Bangladesh Army, the minister said, construction work of around 317 kilometer roads along frontiers of three hilly districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban are going on. Of the total 317 kilometer road, 100 km link road will be constructed , he added.