Nazrul Islam Manju. Photo : Collected

KHULNA, Feb 23, 2026 (BSS) - Nazrul Islam Manju, the newly appointed administrator of Khulna City Corporation (KCC), today pledged to work with honesty, transparency and accountability to meet the expectations of city dwellers.

Manju, a former lawmaker from the Khulna-2 constituency and former president of the Khulna city unit of BNP, said he would assume charge as administrator of KCC after recovering from his illness.

“I am now undergoing treatment in Dhaka. I will return to Khulna and take over the responsibility once I recover,” he told BSS this afternoon.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Manju said the appointment is both an honour and a great responsibility.

He identified infrastructure development, waste management, waterlogging mitigation, road improvement and ensuring quality civic services as major challenges.

 “I want to carry out development activities involving city residents,” he said.

According to an official gazette issued by the Local Government Division on February 22, administrators have been appointed to six city corporations across the country.

As per the notification, Nazrul Islam Manju has been appointed as the full-time administrator of KCC until further order.

The notification, signed by Joint Secretary Mahabuba Irene of the Local Government Division, said that under Section 25A (1) of the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, he has been appointed as administrator until the corporation is constituted or until further order.

Chief Executive Officer of KCC Rajib Ahmed confirmed the matter, saying discussions between the outgoing and newly appointed administrators would determine the date of the formal handover.

Necessary preparations for the transfer of responsibilities have already been taken, he added.

Nazrul Islam Manju is widely regarded as a veteran politician with a clean image in Khulna. He began his political career in 1979 as a Chhatra Dal activist. In 1987, he was nominated joint convener of the Khulna city BNP.
In 1992, he was elected general secretary and served in the post for 17 consecutive years.
Later, on November 25, 2009, he was elected president of the city unit and remained in the position until December 9, 2021.

Party sources said that in December 2021, following the announcement of a three-member convening committee of the city BNP, Manju and his followers were excluded.

He later received a show-cause notice and was relieved of his post as divisional organising secretary. However, he continued to participate in central party programmes and major rallies.

In the 13th parliamentary election, he contested from the Khulna-2 constituency with BNP nomination but was defeated by a narrow margin of around 5,000 votes.

Member Secretary of Khulna Nagorik Samaj, Advocate Babul Howlader, expressed hope that under the new administrator’s leadership, the pace of development in Khulna would accelerate and long-standing problems would be effectively addressed.