'No railway connectivity still in 21 districts'

 
Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujon on Wednesday said country's 43 districts have already come under railway network while 21districts are still have no railway connectivity.

The minister said this while responding to a star-marked question made by Bikalpa Dhara lawmaker Abdul Mannan of Lakhipur-4 during the question-answer session which was tabled at the Jatiya Sangsad here with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, BSS reports.

The 21 districts are: Cox's Bazar, Barishal, Narail, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Satkhira, Meherpur, Khagrachari, Bandarban, Rangamati, Sherpur, Munshiganj, Barguna, Patuakhali, Manikganj, Magura, Lakhipur, Bhola, Pirojpur, Jhalokhati an Bagerhat.

These 21 districts would be brought under the coverage of the railway network in phases, said the minister. Of the 21 ditricts, Sujon, however, said the seven districts including Cox's Bazar, Narail, Munshiganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Magura and Bagerhat would come under the railway network if the railway projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of 2022-23 would successfully implemented.

Meanwhile, the government has already completed the feasibility studies for the constructions of the railway in eight districts like Satkhira, Barishal, Rangamati, Jhalokhati, Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirojpur and Meherpur.

On the other hand, the feasibility study for constructing the railway network in Manikganj is now under process. Railway line will be constructed in four districts like Bandarban, Lakhipur, Sherpur and Khagrachari after materializing the 30years long (2016-2045) Bangladesh Railway Master Plan, he told the parliament.