Minister Pledges Affordable Airfares to Ease Public Suffering

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M. Rashiduzzaman Millat has pledged to bring airline ticket prices within the reach of ordinary people in order to alleviate public hardship.

He made this assurance on Friday, February 27, at noon during an exchange meeting with local journalists held at the conference room of the Jamalpur Deputy Commissioner’s Office.

The meeting was chaired by Jamalpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Yusuf Ali. Among others who spoke were Member of Parliament for Jamalpur-3 Mostafizur Rahman Babul, Superintendent of Police Dr. Chowdhury Md. Jaber Sadeq, senior administrative officials, and Jamalpur District Press Club President M. A. Jalil. Journalists including Shuvra Mehdi and Fazle Elahi Makam were also present.

In his address as the chief guest, the State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism said, “Our Prime Minister has instructed us to reduce the price of Hajj tickets and questioned why airfare should be so high. Biman has been incurring continuous losses. However, upon reviewing the accounts, we found out why Biman was facing persistent losses. It is possible to make Biman profitable and also reduce ticket prices. If we have the goodwill, it is possible to lower airfare, and ticket prices will remain within your reach.”

Referring to airport development, the State Minister noted that there is currently no plan to construct any new airport in the country. He said that the previous government had closed several airports for various reasons. In particular, the airports in Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, and Bogura, which had been fully operational, were shut down. “We will reopen these airports. After that, if any new airport project is undertaken, it will be established in Mymensingh Division,” he added.

Responding to a question from journalists at the exchange meeting, the State Minister also spoke about the murder case of late journalist Nadeem. He mentioned that the case had somewhat stagnated during the interim period but assured that the current government has taken the matter seriously and is firmly committed to ensuring exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.

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