One of the biggest problems facing our country is the overt reliance on our capital city when it comes to the economy. People from all over Bangladesh flock to Dhaka to try and make a decent living, contributing to its burgeoning density, bringing down quality of life for everyone in the process.
The need of the hour, in that case, is decentralization.
To that end, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent comments about developing the rest of the country, especially our rural areas, to the point where people don’t have to rely on Dhaka too much in the pursuit of living a decent life, is heartening.
“We are taking steps to build up villages like townships and ensure all sorts of jobs in rural areas,” she said -- exactly the kind of forward-thinking attitude that Bangladesh needs right now.
There are only a handful of metropolises in Bangladesh, housing the few industries which we have relied on for quite a while. Even a city as important as Chittagong has yet to achieve its true potential as an economic hub because of Dhaka’s prevalence.
Not to mention that most of Bangladesh is still quite agrarian, with entire regions which have yet to receive electricity.
While decentralizing the country is going to require comprehensive planning, the PM’s vision of transforming our villages into townships is realistic, and shows that her administration has its finger on the pulse of the country.
We have always championed for a Bangladesh that makes the most of its landmass, where no one city or town is more economically well-off than the other. To that end, it is reassuring to know that the incumbent government shares our vision.
