A leader affiliated with the BNP party in Netrokona’s Madan municipality has allegedly made threats against local journalists for their coverage of irregularities in a recent road construction project. The incident occurred on a Friday afternoon, during which Kamruzzaman Chandan, the president of the municipality unit, reportedly used a microphone to issue the threats at an event celebrating the completion of the new road.
Witnesses identified the journalists targeted by the threats as Fayez Ahmed Hridoy from Daily Kaler Kantho, Tofazzal Hossain from Daily Jugantor, and Nizam Talukdar from Amar Desh. The municipality had launched a new road construction project valued at Tk 1.92 crore shortly after the completion of a bituminous road by the Local Government Engineering Department at a cost of approximately Tk 1.55 crore.
Previously, Abdullah Al Roman, the brother of upazila BNP president Nurul Alam Talukdar and a representative of the project contractor, organized a human chain with BNP activists and locals, accusing the journalists of extortion following the publication of their reports. The reported threats from the BNP leader have raised concerns among local journalists, who are now seeking legal protection, fearing for their safety.
Journalist Fayez Ahmed Hridoy stated, “After exposing corruption in the road project, a certain group falsely accused us of extortion. Subsequently, we received threats of physical harm if we continued reporting. This has instilled fear in me and my family, prompting me to consider filing a police report.”
In response to inquiries, Kamruzzaman claimed that journalists had solicited money from contractors, and his remarks about cutting hands were made in an attempt to defuse the situation. He acknowledged the inappropriateness of his comments in retrospect.
According to the Madan LGED office, a road measuring 3,370 meters in length, connecting Madan to Kendua via Bhati Monoharpur and Dewan Bazar, was completed in June 2024 at a cost of Tk 1.55 crore by contractor Rahat Enterprise, with a three-year durability guarantee. However, the municipality later initiated a new project costing Tk 1.92 crore to reconstruct part of the same road using RCC casting, leading to concerns of duplicated expenditure and resulting in the backlash from local BNP leaders and threats against journalists.
Madan municipality administrator and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Aliduzzaman clarified that the LGED did not seek written permission from the municipality for the initial road construction. He assured that the current project had prior approval and was being carried out in consultation with local residents.
Meanwhile, residents have criticized the authorities for what they perceive as wasteful spending on reconstructing a recently completed road at a higher cost. Local journalists have called for enhanced safety measures and decisive action against the reported threats.