<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">The grand rally of the ruling Awami League started at Rangpur Zilla School ground on Wednesday afternoon.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina is due to address.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thousands of people, including AL leaders and activists, started assemling at the venue since early in the morning and the ground and its surrounding 10 kilometer radius areas have been filled to the brim&nbsp; by 12pm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leaders and activists of the AL and its associates bodies are coming to the venue in processions carrying colourful banners, posters, placards, small boats, national and party flags.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are chanting various slogans describing various development activities of the government that had been taken in the last 14 and a half years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They also requested the voters to vote for boat, the electoral symbol of Awami League, in the next election.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To welcome their beloved prime minister the entire Rangpur was decorated with several hundreds of makeshift gates (torons), festoons, banners, placards and posters with pictures of the Father of the Nation&nbsp; and the prime minister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Every lanes and by-lanes of the divisional city were also decorated in the similar way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A festive mood had been prevailing among Awami League and its front and associate bodies leaders and activists, and common people for a couple of days over the prime minister’s visit in Rangpur district for the first time in five years since she last visited Pirganj and Taraganj on December 23 in 2018.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The entire Rangpur wore a new look with decoration and lighting all over.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The city roads have also been&nbsp; decorated to welcome the prime minister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Posters inscribed with pictures of the Father the Nation,&nbsp; PM Hasina and Sajeeb Wazed Joy with covering most of the high-rises, important roads, medians and walls with colourful banners and festoons while arches and welcome gates have been erected on roads.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A procession of 390 transgenders under the banner of Nya Odhikar Transgender Unnayan Sangstha came to the venue from different parts Rangpur district&nbsp; wearing colorful dresses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A transgender woman Nusrat, a resident of 26 no ward said that she came to join the rally to welcome the prime minister and show respect to her aw the premier gave them recognition as third gender and took various measures to include them in the mainstream of the society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are now becoming chairpersons and members just because of the prime minister," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A 63-year old Selim Mia who came from 8 no ward under Mahiganj Thana joining a procession of over 3000 men and women, said they strated journey from their locality at 8am by a bus to join the rally. He said they are very happy as the prime minister and daughter-in-law of the district will speak to them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Men wore blue t shirts and blue caps while the women wore cloroful sarees and blue caps.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 73 year old Fazlur Rahman, who came from ward no -1 wearing white T shirt and white and a small national flag in hand like his fellow party colleagues, told this correspondent that the people must repay PM's controbution to the overall development of Rangpur. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>