Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain on Tuesday said casting a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming February referendum is essential to bringing about the desired changes in Bangladesh.
He made the remarks while speaking to journalists on Tuesday afternoon after inspecting the Banglabandha land port in Panchagarh.
Sakhawat Hussain said the referendum must not resemble those held in the past, and neither should governance return to earlier patterns, adding that citizens must seal the ‘yes’ vote to move away from old practices.
He warned that failure to deliver a ‘yes’ mandate would mean reverting to the previous state of affairs, resulting in the loss of the opportunity gained at the cost of “so much blood”.
Without necessary reforms, he said, the system would automatically fall back into its former condition.
Addressing land port and immigration issues, the adviser said passenger movement has declined across the country.
Referring to Benapole, he said daily passenger movement has fallen from more than a thousand to around 300–400, attributing the decline mainly to India’s reluctance to issue visas, while noting that Bangladesh is also issuing fewer visas.
He expressed hope that the situation would gradually return to normal and further improve once a new government takes office after the elections.
Regarding Banglabandha land port, Sakhawat Hussain said the government plans to redesign its operations once the tenure of the current private operator ends.
On regional connectivity, he said a direct road link with China is currently not feasible due to the need to pass through other countries and the nature of subcontinental and Chinese relations.
He said the Ministry of Shipping oversees 20 land ports across the country and that his visit was part of ongoing planning, which the next government would implement in its own way.
Later, the adviser attended a ‘yes’ vote campaign meeting at the Panchagarh Government Auditorium.
Panchagarh Deputy Commissioner Kazi Md Sayemuzzaman, Superintendent of Police Rabiul Islam, and senior officials of the land port authority were present at the event.
