Prime Minister orders renaming of two unions in Bogra

After a controversy erupted over the naming of some unions in two newly formed upazilas of Bogra, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman summoned the Deputy Commissioner and ordered them to be renamed. The two unions are ‘Simanta’ and ‘Diganta’. A new public hearing will be held for the name change. The directive was announced through a post on the Facebook page of the BNP media cell on Friday (June 19) night.
Bogra Deputy Commissioner Taufiqur Rahman said, ‘As per the Prime Minister’s instructions, necessary steps are being taken to change the names of the two unions. In determining the new names, public hearings will be held again, giving importance to the opinions of the local people, the history and heritage of the area and geographical identity.’
In a notification issued by the Bogra district administration on June 11, the administrative structure of 5 unions in Shibganj upazila and 8 unions in the newly formed Mokamtala upazila has been restructured. The naming issue came under intense criticism immediately after the gazette was published on June 14.
It was alleged that Mir Shahe Alam, the State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and the Member of Parliament for Bogra-2 constituency, misused his power and named unions after his family members. The names of the two newly formed unions in Mokamtala Upazila are ‘Simanta’ and ‘Diganta’, which are exactly the same as the names of the State Minister’s two sons, Mir Shakrul Alam Simanta and Mir Saqlain Alam Diganta. In addition, a union formed in Shibganj Upazila has been named ‘Mirbari Union’ after the ancestral residence of the State Minister.
As soon as the issue of such family influence in government naming came to light, there was intense anger on social media and at the local level. In the emerging situation, the Prime Minister himself gave direct orders to change these controversial names, respecting good governance and the aspirations of the people. The district administration said that the new names of the unions will be published in the final gazette form immediately after the completion of the overall legal process.