The Bir Sreshtha Hamidur Rahman Square and its sculpture, located in front of the Jhenaidah Central Bus Terminal, have been dismantled over the last couple of days.
The authorities concerned, however, have been unable to say who is dismantling the structure, creating confusion among locals.
A visit to the site yesterday afternoon found workers dismantling the square. When asked, the workers referred queries to the municipality.
Asked about the demolition, Acting Executive Engineer of Jhenaidah Municipality Md Rashed Ali Khan said he did not know why the structure was being removed.
“The deputy commissioner will be able to explain this,” he said.
Jhenaidah Deputy Commissioner Md Noman Hossain said the district administration was not carrying out the demolition.
“The decision to remove the structure had already been made before I assumed office. The Roads and Highways Department and the municipality are probably implementing that decision. However, the district administration is planning to install a portrait of Bir Sreshtha Hamidur Rahman in front of the District Police Lines.”
He added that inquiries regarding the demolition should be directed to the Roads and Highways Department.
Contacted, Executive Engineer of the Jhenaidah Roads and Highways Department Hafizur Rahman said he was unaware of who was removing the sculpture and the square from the Central Bus Terminal area.
District Council Administrator M Majid said, “There was a sculpture there, but it was impossible to determine what it actually represented. After August 5 [2024], students vandalised it on two occasions. It had also become a cause of accidents in the area. During several meetings, a decision was made to remove it, but no one was willing to take responsibility for demolishing it.”
He also said he was not aware of who was carrying out the demolition.
Majid, who is also president of the district BNP, said there were plans to construct a full-scale statue of Bir Sreshtha Hamidur Rahman at the roundabout near the Chuadanga Bus Stand in Jhenaidah town.
The municipality undertook a project in 2019 to construct the Bir Sreshtha Hamidur Rahman Square. The monument was designed to be 30 feet high and 10 feet wide. However, the sculpture never took its intended final form due to years of neglect, leaving the square overgrown with weeds.
Azizul Haque, a passerby, said every district town in the country has sculptures or monuments at its entrance, highlighting prominent local figures or its historical heritage.
“This square was dedicated to Jhenaidah’s pride, Bir Sreshtha Hamidur Rahman. Now I see it is being demolished, but we do not know why.”
Asked about the demolition, Jhenaidah-2 lawmaker Ali Azam Md Abu Bakar said, “Parliament is in session, and I have been in Dhaka for the past few days. I am not aware of the matter.”
Freedom fighter Siddikur Rahman said Bir Sreshtha Hamidur Rahman is a source of pride not only for Jhenaidah but for the entire nation.
“He wrote a heroic chapter in our Liberation War by sacrificing his life. A square named after him would help the younger generation learn about his contribution. If it is located at the district’s entrance, visitors would learn about him too.”
Hamidur Rahman, a sepoy in the East Bengal Regiment during the Bangladesh Liberation War, was killed on October 28, 1971, while attempting to capture a Pakistani Army position during the Battle of Dhalai in Sreemangal.
Born on February 2, 1953, in Khardo Khalishpur village in Maheshpur upazila of Jhenaidah district, Hamidur is one of the seven freedom fighters conferred the country’s highest military award for his supreme sacrifice.
