The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Gopalganj has taken an initiative to preserve historically significant sites of the Liberation War including mass graves, killing grounds and battlefields in five upazilas of the district.
Through this initiative, the new generation will come to know the correct history including the contributions of the brave sons and daughters of the country in the Liberation War.
Under this project, Gopalganj LGED has already constructed two memorials and one Liberation War memorial museum at three historically significant sites in the district.
Ehsanul Haque, executive engineer of Gopalganj LGED, said under the project, at a cost of around Tk2.25 crore, we have constructed a memorial museum dedicated to the “Hemayet Bahini”, a memorial dedicated to the memories of genocide victims of Manikhar village in Sadar upazila, and another memorial on the battlefield of Fukra Launch Ghat in Kashiani upazila.
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman, former commander of Kotalipara Upazila Muktijoddha Command, said: “Gopalganj is the birthplace of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the great commander of the Liberation War and the great architect of independent Bangladesh. At the call of Bangabandhu in 1971, we rushed to the war.
“Local guerrilla militia forces were formed in this country to remove the invading forces. ‘Hemayet Bahini’ was one such successful force formed in Faridpur and Barisal.”
We fought in Gopalganj, Madaripur, Faridpur and Barisal under ‘Hemayet Bahini’. The government has set up the ‘Hemayet Bahini’ Memorial Museum to show the bravery and life of this force in the Liberation War. We are grateful to the government for this.”
Balram Bhadra, a freedom fighter from Manikhar village, said: “On April 30, 1971, the invading forces launched a barbaric attack on innocent villagers of Manikhar in Sadar upazila. They brutally killed 450 villagers, including Santosh Kumar Das, a professor in the philosophy department at the government-run college.
“The government has built a memorial on the land adjacent to Anil Kar's house in the village to pay homage to the victims of the genocide. This will keep the memory of the martyrs alive forever.”
Abul Kalam Uzir, former commander of Kashiani Upazila Muktijoddha Command, said, “Independent Bangladesh is our biggest achievement through the Liberation War.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government is still utilizing the spirit of the Liberation War to deliver the benefits of independence from door-to-door. This government is preserving the memory of the Liberation War so that the new generation can know the exact history of Bangabandhu, Bangladesh, the Liberation War, and the heroism of the freedom fighters.”