Habibur Rahman:
The 178th public hearing was held in Kushtia under the initiative of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with the belief that ‘unity of youth against corruption will build the purity of the future’. The hearing was organized at the Kushtia Shilpakala Academy auditorium on Monday morning, May 26, 2025. ACC Commissioner (Investigation) Mian Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi was present as the chief guest in the public hearing presided over by the esteemed Deputy Commissioner of Kushtia, Taufiqur Rahman. ACC Commissioner (Investigation) Brigadier General (Retd.) Hafiz Ahsan Farid and Director General (Prevention) Md. Akhter Hossain were the special guests. Kushtia’s Humane Police Superintendent Md. Mizanur Rahman delivered a valuable speech.
The welcome speech was delivered by Moinul Islam Rawshni, Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Integrated District Office, Kushtia. The program was moderated by Tarun Kanti Ghosh, Deputy Director of ACC, Jhenaidah District. During the hearing, the service recipients presented information about various corruption cases that had happened to them, including those involving public interest, in various government offices in the district.
The officials of the concerned government departments explained their position in these cases. However, the ACC officials were not satisfied with the responses of the officials of several government offices including the Civil Surgeon’s Office and the Department of Environment and instead questioned them. During the hearing, some service recipients accused various diagnostic centers of providing multiple test reports. He also wanted to know what kind of action the office had taken so far against illegal clinics and diagnostic centers set up in different parts of the district. In response, the Civil Surgeon said that three months have been set for all the clinics whose documents are not in order and those clinics and diagnostic centers that are running their business in violation of government rules and regulations. If they do not fix everything within this period, action will definitely be taken against them. Expressing dissatisfaction in this response, the officials quickly said, why would a person be given the opportunity to do illegal business for three months. You should take immediate action against them.
The ACC officials also said, “Seal the illegal clinics and diagnostic centers.” Another service recipient complained against the Department of Environment. He said, there is no proper waste management in several industrial factories in Kushtia. The waste from these factories is mixing with the water bodies of the area and harming the environment. This is killing freshwater fish. When the officials of the Kushtia District Department of Environment, including the Deputy Director, tried to avoid the issue, the service recipient showed photographs of how the waste from these factories was polluting the water and environment. Seeing this, the ACC officials reprimanded the officials of the Department of Environment in strong language. They said, “You should stop taking two-pence from the factory owners. Make the salary halal.”
They also called on the local community, including journalists, to cooperate with the ACC in preventing corruption in the district. At the event, public hearings were held on various complaints raised against the Sub-Registry Office, Kushtia Municipality, Department of Environment, Housing Authority, Civil Surgeon’s Office, Passport Office, Kushtia Medical College Hospital, 250-bed hospital, BADC Office, BRTA Office, LGED, Consumer Rights, Election Office, Social Services Office, Rural Electricity, Public Works Department, Water Development Board, District Council, Technical Training Center, Secondary Education Office, Animal Resources Department, Police Superintendent’s Office, Women’s Affairs Department, Education Engineering Department, District Accounts Office, Bangladesh Railway, Land Office, and Kushtia Government College.
There, representatives of almost all government departments in Kushtia district responded to the complaints.
Chief guest Mian Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi said at the event – “What is not good ethics is corruption.” Special guest Brigadier General (Retd.) Hafiz Ahsan Farid called for declaring Kushtia as a corruption-free district next year.
Also present at the event were Kushtia’s discreet ACC Assistant Director Neel Kamal Pal, Deputy Assistant Director Syed Maidul Islam, Deputy Assistant Director Md. Sayedur Rahman, Kushtia District Corruption Prevention Committee General Secretary SM Kaderi Shakil, Vice President Shah Nawaz Ansari Manju, ACC District Committee members Sarkar Rafiqul Islam Shahin, Md. Abu Akram, Kazi Emdadul Bashar Ripon, Md. Obaidur Rahman, Sheikh Zayedul Haque Matin, Neelima Akhter, Parveen Akhter Mili, Md. Shahidul Islam Sumon, the son and generation president of the freedom fighter, senior journalist Md. Habibur Rahman and many others.
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