Soak up the full moon from Padma bridge: Quader

Bangladesh’s longest bridge will open to traffic in the last week of June, creating a new opportunity for users to soak up the beauty of the full moon on the Padma river.

Speaking at an event of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Dhaka University on Saturday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said a summary of the inauguration plan would be sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday.

The bridge will be inaugurated whenever Hasina wants to, he said, inviting the BCL leaders and activists to the programme. “We’ve built the Padma bridge with our own funds. The dream of Bangabandhu’s daughter has come true.”

“The day is not far off when the people of Bangladesh will be able to see the full moon on a moonlit night, standing on the Padma bridge.”

Bangladesh is prospering despite an ongoing global crisis, said Quader, also the general secretary of the Awami League. “Bangladesh will be compared with Europe and America, not Sri Lanka, Afghanistan or Pakistan as long as Sheikh Hasina remains at the helm."

“Just look at how far Bangladesh has come in 13 years. It has become a developing nation from a least developed country because Sheikh Hasina returned to the country,” he said.

The BCL organised the programme to commemorate Hasina’s homecoming from exile in 1981.

“Bangabandhu gave the nation political independence, while it got economic freedom from Sheikh Hasina. She is the champion of our struggle for [economic] freedom.”