Eminent citizens of Rajshahi on Sunday urged the government not to merge the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank with the Bangladesh Krishi Bank.
They came up with the call at a press conference organised by the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank Ekatrikaran Pratirodh Committee at a restaurant in Rajshahi.
At the press conference, freedom fighter Ruhul Amin Pramanik said that after its establishment in 1987, the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank had been regarded as the bank of farmers and people from all walks of life in the North Bengal 鈥� Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions for 37 years.
鈥榃e have come to know that the government has decided to merge RKUB with Bangladesh Krishi Bank, which is one of the weakest banks in the country. We protest at this decision,鈥� he said.
Ruhul Amin said that if the RKUB was merged with the BKB, it would impact negatively on advance agricultural management and agricultural production in the Rajshahi region, resulting in a disaster in agriculture and to the farmers in this region.
Echoing Ruhul, Rajshahi city Awami League president and freedom fighter Mohammad Ali Kamal said that the agriculture in Rajshahi would be ruined if the RKUB was merged with the BKB.
They urged the government to change its decision to merge the two banks immediately to continue the agricultural and infrastructural development of Rajshahi.
Among others, Rajshahi-2 (sadar) constituency lawmaker Shafiqur Rahman Badsha, former commander of Rajshahi City Muktijoddha Sangsad Abdul Mannan, Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, senior journalist Mustafizur Rahman Khan, and poet Ariful Haque Kumar addressed the press conference.
Earlier, people from all walks of life formed separate human chains and held rallies, urging the government to revise its decision on merging the RKUB and the BKB.
