Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said all the slums in Dhaka would be replaced by high-rise buildings. He made the statement during an event in Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, Dhaka on Sunday. “Construction of 550 flats are at their primary stage. Slum residents will be accommodated in those flats after 20,000 flats are completed. “We are taking initiatives to construct 70,000-80,000 flats in Purbachal. Also, 14,500 flats are under construction in Jhilmil residential area,” he said. Mosharraf also said a law was being formulated which, when in effect, would make it illegal to construct industrial and residential buildings on cultivable land. “We are creating 100 industrial zones, specifically for industrial establishments. If the population in an area increases, high-rise buildings should be built instead of destroying land for crops,” he said. Abdur Rahman, chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), also spoke during the event, where he mentioned that tenders for constructing roads in Uttara residential area were completed. He also mentioned that work on the Metro Rail project was underway. This article was first published on Bangla Tribune