Prime Minister Tarique Rahman officially upgraded the nearly 150-year-old Bogura Municipality to the status of a City Corporation on Monday, marking it as the 13th city corporation in Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister formalized the declaration by unveiling a commemorative plaque at the municipal building during his day-long visit to his hometown.

Addressing the gathering, the Premier noted that the upgrade fulfilled a historic expectation of the local population. “This was a long-standing demand of yours.

By transforming Bogura municipality into a city corporation, your demand has been fulfilled,” he stated.

He further emphasized the need for collective effort in future development, adding, “Now Bogura must be transformed into a model city; this cannot be achieved by the government alone. Everyone must cooperate.”

The ceremony was attended by State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, Bogura-6 MP Rezaul Karim Badsha, Local Government Division Secretary Md. Shahidul Hassan, and other senior officials. To mark the occasion, the Prime Minister also planted saplings on the premises.

Established on July 1, 1876, during the British era, Bogura is one of the oldest municipalities in the northern region. Despite its size and history, it remained a municipality while Rangpur, Cumilla, Mymensingh, Narayanganj and Gazipur were upgraded over the last 12 years.

The path to this transition began in 2006 under the government of then-Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, which expanded the municipal area to 69.56 square kilometers and increased the number of wards to 21.

However, the plan to grant it city corporation status had remained stalled for the past two decades.

With this declaration, Bogura joins the ranks of Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barishal, Sylhet, Narayanganj, Cumilla, Rangpur, Gazipur, and Mymensingh.

Earlier in the morning, the Prime Minister arrived at the Bogura Circuit House at 10 am before proceeding to the Judge Court premises to inaugurate the District Bar Association building and the new e-bail bond system.