TBT REPORT

A protest meeting was held at the Shushilon auditorium in Adabor, Dhaka, organized by the Satkhira Development Coordination Forum, demanding the fair implementation of Satkhira’s development rights and protesting against the misleading reports.

Addressed at the protest meeting was  by Iqbal Masud, President of Satkhira Development Coordination Forum; Advisor Riazul Islam; Member Secretary of Kaliganj Upazila Samity, Mostafa Bokuluzzaman; President of Kalaroa Upazila Samity, Azgar Ali Kanchan; General Secretary of Assasuni Upazila Samity, Shafiqul Islam (Shafik); Executive Director of development organization Ideal, Dr. Nazrul Islam, among others.

At the protest meeting, speakers said that Satkhira has long been one of the most neglected districts of Bangladesh. Due to political reasons, the infrastructural development of the district has repeatedly been obstructed. Despite being a border district with road access to the Sundarbans, eco-tourism has not developed due to poor communication infrastructure, resulting in the Sundarbans’ Bangladeshi part not flourishing in tourism like the Indian part. Furthermore, underdeveloped communication facilities have led to the smuggling of Satkhira’s fish into India, depriving Bangladesh of foreign currency earnings.

The government is currently implementing special rural infrastructure development projects in 19 districts, but Satkhira has not been included. Recently, initiatives were taken to include 4 more districts under the project, yet a national daily deliberately misrepresented Satkhira’s status. In reality, accurate information regarding Satkhira’s development was not presented.

Speakers at the protest meeting pointed out that Satkhira has 5,788 roads with a total length of 10,220 km. Of this, only 2,108.79 km (20.63%) are paved, while 8,111.21 km (79.37%) remain unpaved. The report in Prothom Alo falsely stated the total length as 9,294 km and paved roads as 3,339 km. Currently, repair work is ongoing for only 19.27 km, whereas the report claimed 1,050 km.

In reality, the ongoing project will pave only 1,310.22 km, leaving still 67% roads unpaved. Thus, raising the issue of road repairs is irrelevant, as almost 80% of Satkhira’s roads remain unpaved.

Speakers also highlighted budget disparities:

In FY 2022-23, against a demand of Tk 106.46 crore, only Tk 41.43 crore (39.05%) was allocated.

In FY 2023-24, against Tk 118.76 crore, only Tk 41.18 crore (34.67%) was allocated.

In FY 2024-25, against Tk 128.76 crore, only Tk 44.12 crore (34.27%) was allocated.

In FY 2025-26, against Tk 143.97 crore, only Tk 40.51 crore (28.14%) was allocated. The speakers said that deliberate attempts have long been made to obstruct Satkhira’s development. Despite generating significant revenue for the government, the district receives very little in return. While Satkhira has advanced in education, its infrastructure remains severely underdeveloped.

A misleading and purpose-driven report by a national daily has deeply hurt the deprived people of Satkhira. We strongly condemn and protest this report. At the same time, Satkhira’s civil society calls for united efforts to strengthen the movement for their rightful development.