Commerce, Industries and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said development in Sylhet Sadar upazila must be placed on a planned and sustainable footing.

He said projects will be taken up to improve roads in the upazila's seven union parishads, construct small culverts and address existing problems in the communication system.

The minister made the remarks at an exchange of views organised by Sylhet Sadar Upazila BNP at a local restaurant in the city on Friday night.

He said the shortage of safe drinking water in the upazila will be addressed by purifying river water. He also said proposals to construct a bridge over the Surma River in the Dhanpur area and a suspension bridge beside the Keane Bridge will be considered seriously.

Initiatives will also be taken to improve infrastructure at various schools and colleges in Sylhet Sadar and construct new buildings, he added.

Speaking about agricultural development, the minister said no farmland in Sylhet Sadar should remain uncultivated. Initiatives will be taken to produce crops according to land suitability through planned mapping.

He assured that necessary projects will be taken to address sanitation problems.

The meeting was organised to formulate a continuous development plan for Sylhet Sadar upazila, focusing on overall development, infrastructure progress and resolving long-standing public sufferings.

Sylhet Sadar Upazila BNP President Md Abul Kashem chaired the meeting, while its General Secretary Azizur Rahman Aziz moderated it.

Former Sylhet District BNP President and Sylhet District Council Administrator Abul Kaher Shamim, Sadar Upazila BNP Vice-President and Jalalabad Thana BNP Convener Abdus Shahid Chairman, and former Sadar Upazila BNP President Shah Jamal Nurul Huda attended the meeting as special guests.

Leaders of the seven union BNP units under Sylhet Sadar Upazila, along with leaders from different levels of the district and upazila BNP, were also present.