FORMER CTG MAYOR ABM MOHIUDDIN CHY LAID TO REST

Former Chittagong City Corporation mayor and city Awami League president ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury was laid to eternal rest at 6:20pm on Friday at his family graveyard at Chashma Hill in the city's Sholoshahar area with state honour.

Before the burial, the second namaz-e-janaza was held at the mosque adjacent to his residence. 

Earlier, the first namaz-e-janaza of Mohiuddin Chowdhury was held in the afternoon at Laldighi Maidan in the city amid the participation of thousands of people.

Apart from the party leaders and activists, thousands of common people took part in the funeral prayer conducted by Maulana Anisuzzaman, the khatib of Garibullah Shah Mazar Mosque, after asr prayers.

Relatives, party men and well-wishers in their tearful eyes prayed for the eternal peace of the popular political figure.

People from all walks of life gathered at the party office to pay their last tributes to him.

Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, Chittagong divisional commissioner Abdul Mannan, deputy commissioner Jillur Rahman, Chittagong Metropolitan Police commissioner Iqbal Bahar, superintendent of police of the district Nure Alam Mina, Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Abdullah Al Noman were, among others, joined the janaza.

Mohiuddin Chowdhury, 73, breathed his last around 3:00am at Max Hospital in the city where he had been on life support as his condition deteriorated on Thursday night, said Mohiul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, the elder son of the former mayor and organising secretary of Awami League. 

He was taken to the hospital earlier in the evening and later shifted to its intensive care unit around 10:00pm and put on life support, said his son-in-law Selim Jahangir, also head of the CCC Health Department.

On November 11, Mohiuddin Chowdhury was admitted to the ICU of the same hospital as he had been suffering from kidney and heart ailments. Later, he was shifted to Square Hospitals in Dhaka and then taken to Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore.

After the news of his death spread around, hundreds of Awami League leaders and activists and common people thronged the hospital.

Born on December 1 in 1944 at village Gohira of Raujan upazila in Chittagong, Mohiuddin Chowdhury got involved in Chhatra League politics in his college life.

He was elected mayor of Chittagong City Corporation first in 1994, while for the second time in 2000 and for the third consecutive time in 2005. He was the president of Chittagong city Awami League until his death.

Mohiuddin joined different movements under the leadership of the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, before the country’s liberation war. He was arrested several times by the then Pakistani rulers.

During the liberation war, he was sent to jail in Chittagong and tortured by the Pakistani army. Four months later he fled to India from the jail. After receiving training there, Mohiuddin Chowdhury joined the liberation war under the Mountain Division of Indo-Bangla joint force.

After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Mohiuddin Chowdhury fled to India again and returned home after a long time as per a party directive.

During the anti-Ershad movement, he was arrested as he declared the former military ruler as persona non grata in Chittagong.

In 2007, the army-backed government arrested Mohiuddin Chowdhury and other politicians in the country in an overnight raid on March 7 and sent him to a remote jail in Bandarban.

President Abdul Hamid expressed deep shock at the death of Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

Recalling his contributions to the country and its people, president Hamid said the loss caused by his death in the country’s political arena is really irreparable.

Meanwhile, prime minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at the death of Mohiuddin Chowdhury saying that the former mayor of Chittagong city had played important role from the front in all the democratic movements since the liberation war of the country. ‘He never bowed down but embraced jail and faced repression on various occasions in his life. His contributions to the welfare of the people of Chittagong will ever be remembered,’ the prime minister said.

She mentioned that this ‘leader of the people’ would remain alive in the hearts of the mass people.

The prime minister prayed for salvation of the departed soul and expressed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, liberation war minister AKM Mozammel Haque, industries minister Amir Hossain Amu, commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, civil aviation and tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon, deputy speaker M Fajle Rabbi Miah, deputy leader Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, chief whip ASM Firoj expressed profound shock at his death. 

They also prayed for salvation of the departed soul and conveyed their heartfelt sympathies to his bereaved family members.