Minister for Road Transport and Bridges and General Secretary of the ruling Awami League Obaidul Quader said the overall progress of the Padma Bridge work has been more than 81 per cent and about 90 per cent work on the main bridge has been completed.
He made the remarks at a meeting to review the progress of the Padma Bridge project on Friday (September 11) via video conference from his government residence.
The bridges minister said 31 out of the total 41 spans of the Padma bridge have been installed so far. At present 4,650 meters of the bridge is visible. The work of 42 piers has already been completed and the work of 84 percent work of river training is complete.
He also said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the country's first magnificent Expressway from Dhaka to Mawa and from Pachchar to Bhanga. Moreover, the work of connecting road and toll plaza at Mawa and Jajira ends has already been completed.
Regarding the BNP secretary general's statement on the Election Commission's initiative to amend the registration law of political parties, Obaidul Quader said, "Election related matters are under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission." The government has no statement in this regard.
Obaidul Quader said the government will co-operate with the Election Commission in conducting fair, free and participatory elections as per the constitution. It is the organizational responsibility of the government. The formation of the Election Commission is through a constitutional process. The President formed a search committee to form the commission. Among them was a BNP representative.
He said there are now BNP-backed representatives in the Election Commission. The Awami League was never named in the commission during the BNP rule. It is not the government's prerogative to form or abolish the Election Commission, but the President will take appropriate action in due course. If the BNP had won the election, it would have won more votes. And if he is defeated, he has lost by rigging.
Bridges division Secretary Belayet Hossain, Project Director Shafiqul Islam and the representatives of construction companies were present at the video conference.