Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to visit Cox's Bazar today, Saturday, for a day-long official tour. This marks his first visit to the coastal district in over two decades, and his inaugural tour of the region since assuming office as Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister’s Additional Press Secretary, Atiqur Rahman Rumon, confirmed the schedule on Friday (June 12).
According to the official itinerary, the Prime Minister will participate in several foundation stone-laying ceremonies, address a public rally organized by the local BNP at the Chakaria Bus Terminal in the afternoon, and attend a civic gathering in the evening.
Additionally, Prime Minister Rahman will tour the Marine Drive road. He is also scheduled to lay the foundation stones for the newly formed Pekua Municipality and Matamuhuri Upazila—a long-standing demand of the residents of Cox's Bazar.
From a political standpoint, the most anticipated event of the tour is the public rally at the Chakaria Municipal Bus Terminal ground.
The Prime Minister is slated to speak as the chief guest at the rally this afternoon. A strong wave of enthusiasm has been observed among local BNP leaders and activists ahead of the event.
The residents of Cox's Bazar hold high expectations for this visit. Key demands include upgrading the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway to six lanes, establishing a public university, ensuring fair prices for salt, and taking effective measures for Rohingya repatriation.
Furthermore, locals are seeking the Prime Minister's intervention to boost the tourism sector, fully utilize the international airport, and protect the dried-fish industry.
Other major demands from the local populace include constructing a sustainable embankment to protect Kutubdia, building a bridge across the Maheshkhali-Cox's Bazar channel, curbing drug smuggling, and installing a barbed-wire fence along the border.
