Newly appointed Brahmanbaria Deputy Commissioner Sharmin Akter Jahan said that maintaining law and order and ensuring a smooth election are now the administration’s top priorities.
She made the remarks on Monday during a views-exchange meeting with journalists at the Brahmanbaria Press Club auditorium.
Presided over by Press Club President Javed Rahim Bijon, the meeting was attended by journalists from various print and electronic media outlets.
In her speech as chief guest, DC Sharmin Akter Jahan said, “Law and order in the district must remain stable, at any cost. There will be no compromise. Our immediate focus is the election and maintaining law and order. Brahmanbaria has three border upazilas, and we will discuss necessary measures with the concerned authorities.”
She added that the Ministry of Home Affairs has already instructed that no new firearms licences be issued.
Referring to the city’s deteriorated road conditions, she said, “The state of Brahmanbaria’s roads is unacceptable. I will sit with the engineers to understand why this has happened and ensure the problems are resolved quickly.”
The DC also said strong drives will be launched against polythene and single-use plastics. “These waste materials do not decompose. When dumped indiscriminately, they clog municipal drains and create waterlogging,” she said.
She further noted that sand miners must operate strictly within their leased boundaries.
“If anyone extracts sand outside the designated area, mobile courts will be conducted. Violating lease terms will result in cancellation,” she warned.
She said measures will be taken to prevent waterbodies from being filled and to remove illegal brick kilns. “We will work with the police superintendent to recover illegal firearms. Improving the overall law and order situation will require collective effort,” she added.
The meeting was moderated by Press Club Office Secretary Farhadul Islam Parvez, with General Secretary Md Baharul Islam Molla delivering the welcome address.
Special guests included Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Mahmuda Akter, Additional District Magistrate Tahmina Akter, ADC (General) Ranjan Chandra Dey, ADC (Education & ICT) Ehsan Murad, and Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sifat Md Istiak Bhuiyan.
Several journalists also spoke at the event, including Mohammad Arju, KH M Rashidul Islam, Manjurul Alam, Md Ibrahim Khan Sadat, Piyush Kanti Acharya, Deepak Chowdhury Bappi, Al-Amin Shahin, Syed Md Akram, Niaz Muhammad Khan Bitu, Mojibur Rahman Khan, Shihab Uddin Bipu, Md Shahjada, aelim Parvez, Ujjal Chakraborty, Bishwajit Pal Babu, Md Shahadat Hossain, Shafiqul Islam and Fazle Rabbi.
DC Sharmin Akter Jahan also said they will make the utmost effort to improve healthcare services at the 250-bed Brahmanbaria General Hospital. She noted that longstanding human resource issues persist in the health sector.
“Newly appointed doctors are supposed to stay in the same posting for two years, but this rule is not being followed. As a result, district and upazila hospitals struggle to retain doctors,” she said.
