The government has undertaken a special project on rural infrastructure development of greater Dinajpur district for the socio-economic development of the country.
As part of the government move, the project titled “Rural infrastructure development of Dinajpur district” has been proposed to the Planning Commission, an official of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) said.
If the project is implemented, 24.44 percent of upazila roads, 40.10 percent of union roads, 9.05 percent of village roads will be developed for the development of modern civic facilities in the rural areas of 23 upazilas of Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts of Rangpur division, he added.
The project will increase transportation facilities, marketing of agricultural and non-agricultural products and extend city facilities to rural areas, he expects.
In this regard, Planning Minister MA Mannan said, “If the project is implemented, employment opportunities will be created locally. Overall, the project will contribute positively to the socio-economic development of the country.”
An official of planning commission said that the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting was held on March 6 this year after receiving proposals from the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
Following the recommendations of that meeting, the project has been recommended to present in the next meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), he said, adding that if approved, it will be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) by December 2025.
According to the project proposal, Greater Dinajpur is one of the regions in the country in terms of industry.
There are 200 small and big tea gardens in Panchagarh district. Besides, there are also sugar mills, jute mills, electric pole construction industry, Marshall distilleries and tea industry.
Thakurgaon district has several mills and factories including sugar mills, jute mills and silk factories while sugar mills, jute mills and more than 100 auto rice mills has been established in Dinajpur district.
Pebbles from Panchagarh district and underground hard rock from Dinajpur district have been used throughout the country for construction of infrastructure.
Barapukuria's high-quality coal is saving valuable foreign exchange for the energy sector. Establishment of uninterrupted communication in various upazilas of Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts, facilities for marketing of agricultural and industrial products will be increased.
The main activities of the project include upazila road development of 19.7 km, union road development of 386.3 km, village road development of 932.7 km, rural road bridge of 383 m, road rehabilitation of 102.95 km and tree plantation and maintenance of 23 km.