RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Rural development means development of village. Bangladesh is a land of villages. More then 80 percent of her people live in villages. So the importance of villages in politic is great. The development of the entire country depends on the welfare of these villages. So it is essential to keep the villages in a flourishing condition.

In our country rural development has various aspects. The most important of them are agriculture, education, communication, sanitary and health, cottage industries, fishery, co-operative societies community life etc.

A good communication is essential for the development of the villages. With this end in view our government has taken some practical measures. Many new roads have been constructed and many old and culverts have been repaired. There are also some pucker roads. Now-a-day we see that buses, auto rickshaws trucks, rickshaws etc move on the pucker roads in-the rural areas. Today farmers are sending their products to towns and cities.

Education is the backbone of a nation. Without education a nation can not prosper. It is education which illumines the soul, broadens the outlooks on life and dispels the darkness of ignorance. Bangladesh is a poor country. About 85% percent of her population live in village. They do not know how to read and write. We can not reach the peak of prosperity and progress until and unless we can remove the curse of illiteracy from the lot of our people. Our government is determined to free the nation from the curse of illiteracy within a very short time.

Bangladesh is an agricultural country. Agriculture is the life blood of her economy, Again about eighty percent of our people are engaged in agriculture who live in villages, Even in this modern scientific age our agriculture is very backward. But at present it is a very happy news that our government has taken active steps and necessary measures for the progress of agriculture, such as supplying the farmers with modern scientific tools for cultivation, good seeds, fertilizer at a cheaper rate, agricultural loans on easy terms and many other things. Irrigation system has been improved.

As most of the villagers are illiterate, they have no knowledge of health and sanitation. Most of the villagers suffer from various diseases. But this miserable condition is changing slowly. Many hospitals, health centers, clinics and charitable dispensaries have been set up in rural areas to ensure health to the poor rural people.

Pure drinking water was very scarce in the past. People used to drink water from ponds. As a result they suffered from many water born diseases. Now-a-days every village has at least one or more tube wells.

Though eighty percent of our villagers are engaged in agriculture, a large number of them remain idle for the greater part of the year. They can be employed if the cottage industries are revived and developed. They can earn a decent living from them. The cottage industries can provide employment to a large number of people and in this way unemployment problem can be solved to some extent.

By raising more Poultry and cultivating fish more, we can develop our villages. Our government has paid much attention to these things. The poor villagers are given loan on easy terms. Many unused marshy lands have been brought under fish cultivation.

Through the development of the villages our country will reach the peak of progress and prosperity. Let us all come forward and work with concerted efforts to develop our villages.