Staff Correspondent :
Dr. Abu Nasar Mohammad Abdullah, Joint Secretary (Planning) of the Local Government Division, has been appointed as the new Administrator of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC).
On Sunday (August 31), the Local Government Division issued an order assigning him the additional responsibility as the Administrator of NCC. He is the brother of Mohammad Shafiqul Alam, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government. He formally joined office last Monday.
After taking charge, Dr. Abu Nasar Mohammad Abdullah stated that two of the major problems in Narayanganj are traffic congestion and water supply issues. “We are discussing with officials from different departments to figure out possible solutions. But the cooperation of everyone is essential,” he added.
Addressing officials, he said, “The City Corporation is a service-providing institution. Our primary responsibility is to ensure civic services. Citizens must not be deprived of these services under any circumstances. Since many councilors are absent, we will make every effort to deliver these services through the officials.”
It is worth noting that after the mass uprising in August last year, all city mayors across the country were removed from office. Later, Additional Secretary of the Local Government Division, A.H.M. Kamruzzaman, was appointed as the Administrator of NCC. On August 27, he was transferred from the Local Government Ministry to the Ministry of Food.
In Narayanganj’s history, Ali Ahmad Chunka was elected as the first Chairman of the municipality after independence. In 2003, his eldest daughter, Dr. Selina Hayat Ivy, was elected as the Chairman of the municipality.
When three municipalities of Narayanganj were merged into a City Corporation, Dr. Ivy contested the first city election in 2011. She defeated former Member of Parliament Shamim Osman by a margin of over one hundred thousand votes, becoming the country’s first female mayor. From municipality to city corporation, Ivy served as the city’s chief for more than two decades.
Recently, a few months after being removed from her mayoral position by the interim government, Dr. Selina Hayat Ivy was arrested on May 9 this year from her residence “Chunka Kutir” in Deovog in connection with a murder case related to the anti-discrimination student movement. The former senior vice-president of Narayanganj District Awami League is now being held at Kashimpur Central Women’s Prison in Gazipur.
