The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Expectation of the people of the southern coastal regions to the AL-led Grand Alliance government to be headed by Sheikh Hasina is too high as they want freedom from the decades old poverty.

The people have to take to the street demanding development of the region for changing their lot. The development that has taken place in the region, was the result of streets agitation of the people, still they are not free from poverty.

The three divisions-Rajshahi, Khulna and Barisal are the most poverty striken region of the country. The development activities remained confined in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions during the past governments. The southern and southwestern regions of the country are now the homes of the millions of the abject poor of the country, the bmp of which is divided by the river Padma and the region is considered as the curse of the divided map.

These people are unable to live in hands to mouth. The price hike and unemployment are forcing them to end up in the hands of poverty.

A report of the Planning Commission in September last year said the poverty reduction picture of the eastern region of the country was encouraging, while the scene was discouraging in southern and southwestern regions.

The report also said the budget allocation of those three divisions was much higher than that of the three southern regions. Whenever the four-party alliance government was in power, finance and planning minister of the government Saifur Rahman misused his offices because he always sanctioned much higher allocation for Sylhet than any other southern region. Whereas t least number of people live below the poverty line in Sylhet, the report commented.

Sylhet division received the maximum benefit of the government's any social programmes for poor.

The Planning Commission report said 40 percent of the 140 million people of the country live below the poverty line. Least number of poor people below the poverty line live in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions.

It said 52 percent people of Barisal are poor while figure at Rajshahi is 51.2 percent and 45.7 percent in Khulna division. In Dhaka division, 32 percent people live below the poverty line.

The expectations of the poverty stricken people of the region are much. There are plenty of gas resources in the southern region. The gas reserve invented at Bhola while military dictator was in power while the gas was explored by the Khaleda Zia government during it first tenure.

After that Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina was in power alternatively. But none of the governments explored the gas. Even the head of the caretaker government Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed had visited Barisal more than one occasions and committed to explore the gas, but it remained a far cry.