Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman has said North Bangladesh, despite playing a vital role in bolstering the country’s food supply, has been deliberately deprived since the country’s independence. “Since the creation of Bangladesh, North Bangladesh has not been poor — it has been kept poor,” Shafiqur said on Friday. “This North Bangladesh provides food and nutrition to the country, but has been kept wilfully deprived,” he said. “There must be balance.”‘WHY DID THE RIVERS DIE?’Earlier on Friday, Shafiqur travelled to North Bangladesh by air from Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport. “Allah Almighty gifted North Bangladesh four great rivers — the Teesta, Brahmaputra, Atrai and Karatoya,” he said.
