HRPB UK holds special meeting demanding conversion of Sylhet Osmani Airport into a full-fledged international airport

Muhammed Shahed Rahman :

A special meeting was held in the United Kingdom under the initiative of the human rights organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) UK branch, demanding the speedy implementation of Sylhet Osmani International Airport as a full-fledged international airport.
Mufti Abul Hasan, the Member of Parliament for Sylhet-5 constituency, who is visiting the UK, was present as the chief guest at a meeting recently organized at Darpan Book Club in East London.
The meeting was chaired by the organization’s vice president and prominent community leader Shah Munim, and the organization’s president and veteran journalist Md. Rahmat Ali delivered the welcome speech.
The meeting was conducted by the organization’s General Secretary, Maj. Ayas Mia. At the beginning of the program, Joint Secretary Abul Hossain recited the Holy Quran.
The meeting was addressed by the organization’s vice president and former speaker Ahbab Hossain, former mayor of Barking and Dagenham Council Farooq Chowdhury, president of the British Bangladesh Education Trust Md. Mujibur Rahman, former secretary of the Bangladesh Expatriates Welfare Council Ahbab Hossain, community leader Nazmul Huda, leader of the anti-apartheid movement Abdul Mukit, former councilor Md. Osman Ghani, Professor Abdul Hai, Dr. Kamrul Hasan, Syed Zahurul Haque, Maulana Rafiq Ahmed, Faruk Miah, senior vice president of the UK Bangla Reporters Unity Imdadun Khan, Ion TV presenter Hena Begum, community activists Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hannan, Abdus Sattar, Dilruba Yasmin Ruhi, Mahbub Khan, advocate Amirul Islam, Md. Enam Uddin, Fazlul Haque Chowdhury and Sharif Uddin among others.
Speakers at the meeting said that it is the demand of the hour to quickly implement Sylhet Osmani Airport as a full-fledged international airport. Although Sylhet residents and expatriates have been making this demand for a long time, they expressed their anger as it has not been effectively implemented.
The speakers also said that despite the word ‘international’ attached to the name, Osmani Airport still has various limitations in terms of facilities and international flight operations.
The speakers alleged that in reality, the airport is being operated largely like a domestic airport, which is why the expectations of the people of the Sylhet region, which has a large expatriate population, are not being met.
The speakers also said that it is necessary to develop the Sylhet Osmani Airport as a full-fledged international airport by providing the necessary infrastructure, increasing international routes and improving the quality of passenger services. It is necessary to ensure the full international capacity of the airport, especially considering the travel of a large number of Sylhet expatriates living in various countries of the world, including the UK.
The speakers at the meeting urged the chief guest of the event, MP Mufti Abul Hasan, to re-present the issue in the National Parliament and strongly raise it with the relevant government circles. At the same time, they demanded to take immediate and effective action.