Villages renamed after local lawmaker

Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Mahmudul Hassan, who joined BNP from Ershad's Jatiya Party in 1998, hailed from Madarkol village in Katulee union under the Sadar upazila. Now the village is Mahmudnagar.

Mahmudnagar is also a newly formed union.

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The adjoining village was Kukuria. It has also been renamed Hasnabad. More over, the lawmaker managed to approve a new union in Mahmudnagar.

All official formalities have been made as regards changing names of the two villages, official sources said.

Mahmudul Hassan is a lawmaker from Tangail-5 (Sadar-Delduar) constituency (Tangail Sadar and Delduar upazilas), elected in 2001 with a BNP ticket.

Earlier, while a minister during Ershad's rule, he named several educational institutions including two colleges after him in his constituency when he was a Minister earlier.

He also named different buildings including educational institutions after his wife Hosne Ara Hassan and late son Shahriar Hassan in Tangail Sadar and Delduar upazilas.

When contacted, a senior official of Sadar Upazila Parishad seeking anonymity said the local government ministry has approved the proposal to rename the two villages and creation of a new union after request by the lawmaker.

The Sadar upazila administration has already received a letter in this regard from the Deputy Commissioner's office, he said.

Tangail Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Motiur Rahman said activities in new Mahmudnagar union will start after the next Union Parishad (UP) election.

Advocate Abdur Razzak, general secretary of Sadar upazila BNP, said, "Sir (Mahmudul Hassan) has done a lot of development work for people who were ignored for long. So, villagers have renamed the villages".

Tangail district BNP secretary Moniruzzaman Bulbul however termed it a 'mistake' by the lawmaker.

"It may be harmful for BNP in the next parliamentary election", he said.

When contacted over cell phone, Mahmudul Hassan admitted that a new union has been named Mahmudnagar. He declined to say anything more.