|| Zakir Hossain, Pirojpur: A key stakeholders’ meeting on projects under the ‘Highway Master Plan (HMP)-2040’ was held jointly by the Pirojpur District Administration and the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) on Wednesday afternoon, April 15.The meeting took place at the Shaheed Abdur Razzak-Saif Mizan Memorial Conference Room of the Pirojpur Deputy Commissioner’s Office.State Minister for Housing and Public Works Ahmed Sohel Manjur, MP, attended as chief guest. Addressing the meeting, he said, “This long-term master plan of the government will bring revolutionary changes in Pirojpur’s road communication system. There is no alternative to an improved highway network in building Smart Bangladesh and achieving economic prosperity.”He added, “We will definitely prioritize our key needs over the next five years. If we work to reduce public suffering, we can take Pirojpur forward step by step. In the last 20 years, a lot of money has been wasted due to non-performance by Roads and Highways, LGED, and other organizations. Because of that, we now have to slow down.”Referring to the Prime Minister’s directive, the State Minister said, “The Honorable Prime Minister told me, ‘It is not possible to do all the undone work at once. Talk to the public representatives of your area and identify the roads that must be completed to reduce public suffering.’ Some of our road works are already 60-70 percent complete, and some bridge works are pending. We will try to finish them.”He stressed planned development of Pirojpur, easing public suffering, and implementing projects on a priority basis as per the Prime Minister’s instructions.Pirojpur Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Abu Sayeed presided over the meeting.Among others present were Pirojpur District Council Administrator Principal Alamgir Hossain, Additional Chief Engineer of RHD Barishal Zone Md Rezaul Karim, Superintending Engineer of Barishal RHD Circle Md Masud Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development and Human Resource Management) and Deputy Director, Local Government, Pirojpur (additional charge) Mahmudur Rahman Mamun, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) Md Ziaur Rahman, District BNP President Md Nazrul Islam Khan, Member Secretary Saidul Islam Kismat, senior RHD officials, officials of various government departments, local public representatives, journalists, and other stakeholders.The meeting presented various plans for the development and expansion of highways in Pirojpur and for building a sustainable road network by 2040. The program was moderated by T M Rajimul Alim Raju, Sub-Divisional Engineer, RHD Pirojpur.