Fatikchhari (Chittagong) Correspondent

Putting an end to long-standing demands, administrative reorganization and speculation, the government has approved the formation of a new 'Fatikchari Uttar' upazila comprising six unions of Fatikchari upazila in Chittagong.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman approved the formation of the new upazila at the 121st meeting of the National Implementation Committee on Administrative Reorganization (NICAR) at the Secretariat on Wednesday (July 1). Prime Minister's Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu confirmed this information to the media.

But soon after the announcement of the new upazila, a new controversy has arisen over the location of the headquarters. While some welcomed the decision, others have called it discriminatory and announced that they will continue the movement.

Residents of the northern part of the upazila said that the only way out is to reject any initiative to determine the location of the headquarters, ignoring the recommendations of the public hearing and administrative rationality, and continue the movement.

Md. Mejbah Uddin, a resident of Uttaranchal Narayanhat and a former government secretary, said, "It will not be of any use to them if the 3 unions of Suabil and Uttar become upazilas in Bhujpur, so we will launch a movement to cancel the decision of the new upazila and take up simultaneous legal programs. We do not want upazilas for personal interests."

According to Nikar's decision, 'Fatikkhari Uttar' Upazila was formed from six unions of the Upazila. In the same meeting, two more Upazilas named 'Bangra' in Comilla and 'Pagla' in Mymensingh were approved. In addition, it was decided to form a new Thana named 'Halda' from part of Hathazari Upazila of Chittagong.

Locals claim that in the last public hearing held in the process of establishing a new upazila, a recommendation was made to set up the headquarters at a convenient location between Narayanhat and Dantmara. Later, after the administration's on-site inspection, considering the communication system, geographical location and public service issues, a proposal was also made to set up the headquarters in Jujkhola Mouza. But ignoring all these, it is alleged that a proposal for a different location (Bhujpur Mouza) was later sent. The final decision of the NIKA is now on the way to implementation, keeping the locals' ideas there. Since then, extreme anger and dissatisfaction have spread among the residents of the six unions in the northern region.

Due to the ongoing dispute over the location of the headquarters, locals held human chains, protest rallies and road blockades in the upazila's Heyakon Bazar, Narayanhat, Balutila and Suabil areas on Tuesday. This disrupted traffic on the Dhaka-Khagrachari and Khagrachari-Chittagong regional highways for several hours and caused long traffic jams.

The protesters said that while they welcomed the decision to form new upazilas, the headquarters should be established in a place that is equally accessible and administratively effective for the people of the six unions.