State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, MP, has said that Bogura has been deprived of its expected development and rights for a long two decades.
He said that this subjugation and deprivation originated during the 1/11 military-backed caretaker government led by Fakhruddin and Moeen U Ahmed in 2006.
The State Minister made these remarks as the chief guest at a special exchange of views programme titled “Development, Prospects, and Challenges of Bogura,” held at a local hotel on Thursday.
Mir Shahe Alam noted that the onslaught and injustices targeting BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman began back in 2006.
Emphasising that the two years under the 1/11 administration cannot be overlooked or forgiven, he stated that party leaders and activists faced extreme torture and an unprecedented number of lawsuits during that period, with subsequent oppression under the Awami League government being a mere continuation.
He urged all party leaders and activists to frame the narrative around the complete 20 years of deprivation rather than confining it to 17 years.
Addressing the session as the key note speaker, Additional Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Atikur Rahman Rumon strongly criticized the prolonged development stagnation in the district.
He pointed out that over the last 17 years no tangible initiatives were taken to establish a university in Bogura or a premier engineering institution comparable to BUET for future generations.
Various long-standing demands of local residents — such as an operational airport, a regional television station, and a radio station — have remained persistently neglected.
Expressing his frustration, he added that instead of progress, the region faced regression, highlighting how the Shaheed Chandu International Stadium, established through the dedicated efforts of the late Arafat Rahman Koko, was left inoperative for years.
The meeting also addressed the overall development potential, agro-industrial progress, and pressing challenges facing the northern hub. Among others, BNP Media Cell Convener Prof Dr Mordud Hossain Alamgir Pavel, Bogura-6 MP Rezaul Karim Badsha, Bogura-3 MP Muhit Talukder, Bogura City Corporation Administrator MR Islam Shadhin, Deputy Commissioner Towfiqur Rahman, Superintendent of Police Mirza Sayem Mahmud, and Bogura Youth Choir Secretary Towfiqul Alam Tipu, among others spoke on the occasion.
Prominent local academics, physicians, legal practitioners, journalists, and business leaders also took part in the open discussion. The speakers collectively demanded the swift revival of international cricket fixtures at the stadium, the establishment of a university and commercial airport services, and extensive modernisation of the regional transport network to establish Bogura as a self-reliant, modern commercial centre.