Bogura has suffered neglect and discrimination in many areas over the past 20 years, said Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives.

He said the present government is ending that deprivation and taking Bogura's development forward with the same importance as the national development drive. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the government is giving equal importance to development and environmental conservation, he said.

The state minister made the remarks as chief guest at the opening of a tree-planting programme on the roads along both sides of the re-excavated Barail-Bakson canal in Maidanhatta union, Mokamtala, Shibganj upazila of Bogura, on Friday afternoon (3 July).

"Not just building infrastructure, but protecting the environment and building a safe, green and liveable Bangladesh for future generations is also a government priority. That is why a large tree-planting programme is being carried out across the country alongside canal re-excavation," Mir Shahe Alam said.

The planting along both banks of the Barail-Bakson canal is part of the nationwide programme to plant 25 crore trees in five years. After long neglect, the canal had silted up and was almost dead. Through recent government initiatives and re-excavation, it has now regained its natural navigability and water flow.

At the programme, the state minister formally opened work to conserve the environment, protect biodiversity and build a sustainable green belt by planting trees along both banks. Several thousand fruit and timber saplings were planted along both banks of the canal, which is about three and a half kilometres long.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.