JS panel backs 2 AHN routes amid dissent
Bdnews24.com . Dhaka
A parliamentary watchdog has finally given backing to two of the proposed routes for the Asian Highway Network through Bangladesh, amid continued opposition from the BNP.
The parliamentary standing committee on communications suggested Wednesday that the government should select one of the two routes, which will enter from India and re-enter into India, for Bangladesh痴 AHN link.
Nazrul Islam Manju, the lone BNP MP of the 10-member parliamentary panel, gave note of dissent on the recommendations terming it 疎gainst national interests・
Instead, he stressed that the highway should cross Bangladesh and exit through Myanmar via its Teknaf point.
糎e have recommended choosing Benapole-Dhaka-Tamabil or Banglabandha-Hatikumrul-Dhaka-Tamabil routes for the Asian Highway,・Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the standing committee chairman, told journalists after the meeting at parliament building.
He said the parliamentary panel suggested the routes considering Bangladesh痴 weight of bilateral trade with India.
選 have given note of dissent on the recommendations as the two routes do not meet the ESCAP criteria for the Asian Highway,・Nazrul Islam Manju told bdnewsw24.com after the meeting.
禅he recommendations are against national interests,・he said.
Manju said as per the ESCAP conditions the highway should connect a capital with another, but none of the two routes would connect Bangladesh with the Indian capital.
Besides, the highway should also connect ports, railway links and have trade and tourism activities.
選f it passes through Tamabil, a hilly region, it will not meet the ESCAP criteria,・said Manju.
糎e are going to construct deep sea port in Kutubdia (Chittagong). If the AHN bypasses Chittagong, it will not bring any benefit to the nation・
The BNP MP said he told the meeting that the government must hold discussion in parliament to decide the routes for securing national interests.
The Ruling Awami League and the BNP are sharply divided over the selection of the routes of the Asian Highway which will ultimately connect Asia with Europe.
The Awami League says the highway should come from India and re-enter into India痴 north-eastern states bordering Bangladesh. But the BNP said the highway must enter Myanmar via Bangladesh with ultimate target of reaching China through the former Burma.
The BNP and its allies say, if the highway passes from and back through India instead of Myanmar, it will make Bangladesh too dependent on India with regard to the international road network.
The opposition says the government wants to give India transit facilities, a very politically sensitive issue in Bangladesh, in the name of the Asian Highway.
Some ministers of the Awami League talked in favour of giving India transit facilities, but they were highly criticised for their stance on the issue.
The BNP earlier warned that it would launch mass movement if the government gave transit facilities to India.
Bdnews24.com . Dhaka
A parliamentary watchdog has finally given backing to two of the proposed routes for the Asian Highway Network through Bangladesh, amid continued opposition from the BNP.
The parliamentary standing committee on communications suggested Wednesday that the government should select one of the two routes, which will enter from India and re-enter into India, for Bangladesh痴 AHN link.
Nazrul Islam Manju, the lone BNP MP of the 10-member parliamentary panel, gave note of dissent on the recommendations terming it 疎gainst national interests・
Instead, he stressed that the highway should cross Bangladesh and exit through Myanmar via its Teknaf point.
糎e have recommended choosing Benapole-Dhaka-Tamabil or Banglabandha-Hatikumrul-Dhaka-Tamabil routes for the Asian Highway,・Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the standing committee chairman, told journalists after the meeting at parliament building.
He said the parliamentary panel suggested the routes considering Bangladesh痴 weight of bilateral trade with India.
選 have given note of dissent on the recommendations as the two routes do not meet the ESCAP criteria for the Asian Highway,・Nazrul Islam Manju told bdnewsw24.com after the meeting.
禅he recommendations are against national interests,・he said.
Manju said as per the ESCAP conditions the highway should connect a capital with another, but none of the two routes would connect Bangladesh with the Indian capital.
Besides, the highway should also connect ports, railway links and have trade and tourism activities.
選f it passes through Tamabil, a hilly region, it will not meet the ESCAP criteria,・said Manju.
糎e are going to construct deep sea port in Kutubdia (Chittagong). If the AHN bypasses Chittagong, it will not bring any benefit to the nation・
The BNP MP said he told the meeting that the government must hold discussion in parliament to decide the routes for securing national interests.
The Ruling Awami League and the BNP are sharply divided over the selection of the routes of the Asian Highway which will ultimately connect Asia with Europe.
The Awami League says the highway should come from India and re-enter into India痴 north-eastern states bordering Bangladesh. But the BNP said the highway must enter Myanmar via Bangladesh with ultimate target of reaching China through the former Burma.
The BNP and its allies say, if the highway passes from and back through India instead of Myanmar, it will make Bangladesh too dependent on India with regard to the international road network.
The opposition says the government wants to give India transit facilities, a very politically sensitive issue in Bangladesh, in the name of the Asian Highway.
Some ministers of the Awami League talked in favour of giving India transit facilities, but they were highly criticised for their stance on the issue.
The BNP earlier warned that it would launch mass movement if the government gave transit facilities to India.