Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Venting dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work on the country’s first satellite, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the officials concerned to take prompt actions to launch Bangabandhu Satellite by March 2017. “The work should have been done much earlier but it’s going on at a leisurely pace. It should be completed in a speedy manner. Some work should be
carried out with courage,” she said. The premier made the comments while addressing officials of posts and telecommunications ministry at the secretariat. If nothing intervenes, she hoped, the satellite would take its course by 2017. BTRC sources said Bangabandhu Satellite would cost Tk 3000 crore. To this end, the government signed a deal with US-based organisation Space Partnership International on March 29, 2012. Country’s television channels, internet service providers, V-Sat and radios have been functioning with the support of foreign satellite. Each TV channel has to pay $200000 as rent. The PM directed the officials to discharge responsibilities with utmost sincerity. “You should keep in mind that the tenure of the government is five years. Of the time, six months have already been gone. We must complete all the work during the rest of the time,” she said. Hasina also unveiled the government’s plan of establishing one IT village and software technology park in every district. IT village and software technology park will be set up in seven divisions, with initiatives taken to set up ICT village at Mohakhali in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Barisal initially, she noted. Mentioning people’s habit, the PM said, “People in the past looked for foods. “But now they want electricity. They ask the government for power and raise questions for slow speed of internet.” “Such attitude helps understand that people are financially solvent.” Lambasting the post-75 carnage governments, Hasina said those governments did not think about the matter rather they were busy grabbing state power. “Those who ruled the country for 21 years after the August 15 massacre in 1975 didn’t claimed Bangladesh’s stake in sea. Had they taken an initiative, Bangladesh could have gained its right share in the continental shelf.” Referring to the recent victory in maritime boundary case with India, the premier said Bangabandhu enacted the ‘Maritime Boundary Act 1974’ much ahead of the United Nations. As a result of prompt steps by her government, including lodging well-timed claim with the international court, she said the country won victories in the maritime cases against Myanmar and India. Although her 1996 government made some progress over the maritime demarcation, Hasina alleged, the BNP-led government did not make any move to establish the country’s rights in the bay. “If they would take timely measures, our claim in the bay would have been specified after the verdict,” she said, adding: “We would lose our rights if we would fail to place our demand within 10 years.” A large portion of her speech was featured with various state measures over the success in the information technology sector. As part of the election pledge to build a digitised nation, Hasina said her government after assuming office in 2009 gave top priority to ICT and telecommunications sector to take public services to their doorsteps. “Initially,” she said, “many termed the plan unrealistic and even made indecent comments. But after five years, Digital Bangladesh is now a reality as remotest ruralites can get its benefit now.” “Some four million people now get service from union information centre alone,” she said, adding that Bangladesh earned some $125 million in terms of software exports and providing IT service. Following re-election in the January 5 polls, Hasina said, the Awami League-led government has been able to maintain continuity of its previous development programmes. “The government is hopeful that it could march ahead with digital technology-based Bangladesh,” she remarked. The PM said 75 percent construction work of a high-tech park on 232 acres of land in Kaliakoir, Gazipur, is complete while Janata Tower at Karwanbazar in the capital is being turned into a software technology park. Telecommunications and ICT Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui and State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, among others, also spoke.
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