Road Transport and Bridges Minister, also in charge of the Post and Telecommunications and ICT Ministry in Parliament, Obaidul Quader on Saturday said the government is turning 8,500 post offices into e-centres for reaching information and communication technology service to the rural people.Replying to a question from treasury bench member AKM Jahangir Hossein in the House, he said the government has taken a project – Post E-Centre for Rural Community – to turn 8,000 rural post offices and 500 upazila or thana post offices into e-centres across the country.
“Some 25,00 post offices have been providing services on test basis. The government has a plan to turn all post offices into modern and information technology based information service centre phase by phase,” Quader added. He informed the House that a total of 9,886 post offices in the country have been providing service to the people, adding, “Post offices earned Taka 69.65 crore in 2013-2014 fiscal year through savings bank accounts, savings certificate, electronic money order service, general money order and postal cash card services.”
Replying to another question from treasury bench member M Tajul Islam of Comilla, the minister said that the government would expand WiFi technology to provide internet facility to users.
Quader also said that the government has been implementing Banglagovtnet and Infosarkar-2 projects aimed at expanding internet service and internet connectivity at district and upazila level to materialize the slogan of “Digital Bangladesh.”
