Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said if allegations are proved, every drug dealer, no matter how powerful they are, would be punished.

“Anyone whose name is in the list of Department of Narcotics Control will face the same consequence,” Quader was quoted as saying by BSS.

The minister said this while visiting the expansion work of Nabinagar-Chandra highway in Ashulia area.

In the last 12 days, 73 people, who according to law enforcers were drug dealers, were killed across the country in what officers said were gunfights.

“Even lawmaker from Cox's Bazar-4 constituency, Abdur Rahman Bodi, will not be spared if allegations against him are proven.

“No one will be spared even if he or she is a member of Awami League or BNP...Everyone will be punished,” Quader, also general secretary of the Awami League, told reporters.

He said illegal drugs entered the country like the Rohingyas, our Savar correspondent reports.

Youths are being destroyed by these drugs, he observed.

A certain political quarter did not accept, but people wanted such a drive and accepted it, the minister said.

About the Nabinagar-Chandra highway, he said, “Construction work of the four-lane highway is almost complete. Whatever is left, will complete before the Eid.”

The condition of Ashulia road is better, said Qader, adding that there was no possibility of tailbacks on the Dhaka-Tangail highway during the Eid holidays.

He also expressed his hope that the construction work of Abdullahpur -EPZ Elevated Expressway would begin in October.

About prime minister's visit to India, Quader said the matter of Teesta agreement would be discussed there, the BSS report adds.