CIVIC amenities have not improved as expected in the Rangpur city even
four years after it was made a divisional city in 2009.
The city dwellers have been facing manifold problems for long.
Rangpur became the seventh administrative division in the country comprising eight northern districts — Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Gaibanada, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Thakurgaon.
Rangpur municipality was upgraded into a city corporation on 28 June, 2012, but there is still a large gap between the level of development and the people’s expectation.
The socioeconomic condition of the people and civic amenities did not improve as expected.
Some divisional government offices have started functioning, but no other changes have taken place.
Population has increased threefold over the last four years as a large number of migrant people have come to the city pushing up the price of lands.
Communication network and health-care services have not developed significantly since Rangpur was made a divisional city.
Traffic jam and power crisis still remained a problem.
People had expected that their socio-economic condition would improve after the city was upgraded into a divisional headquarters. They had also expected that mills and factories would be set-up to mitigate job crisis. But their hopes remain unfulfilled.
Educationist and former professor of Carmichael College, Mozahar Ali said, the number of students in Rangpur was increasing rapidly, but only one University had been established in 2008. People have long been demanding a science and technology university in Rangpur. The government was committed to meet the demand but still it was not done.
-With New Age input
