Gulshan–Pragati Sarani renamed ‘Felan­i Avenue’, inauguration set for Dec

A major road connecting Gulshan-2 to Pragati Sarani has been officially renamed ‘Felan­i Avenue’ in honour of Felan­i Khatun, the 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl whose 2011 killing by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) sparked national and international outrage.

The decision was first made public on Tuesday by Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain through a post on his verified Facebook page; just hours before he tendered his resignation on Wednesday. 

In the post, he announced that the diplomatic zone road would now carry Felan­i’s name to commemorate her as a symbol of resistance against border killings.

As the authority to name or rename roads falls under city corporations, the matter was placed with Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Confirming the change, DNCC Administrator Mohammad Azaz said on Thursday, “DNCC has formally renamed the Gulshan-2 to Pragati Sarani road as Felan­i Avenue. All necessary documentation has been completed. The official procedures are done.”

He added that the new nameplate will be installed and unveiled sometime in December.

Felan­i Khatun was shot dead on January 7, 2011, at Anantapur border point in Kurigram’s Fulbari upazila while returning to Bangladesh with her father. 

Her body remained hanging on the barbed-wire fence for hours, a harrowing image that prompted widespread condemnation at home and abroad.

Over the years, activists and rights groups have repeatedly demanded that the road in front of Indian High Commission in Gulshan be named after Felan­i. 

On September 13, 2024, Peoples’ Activist Coalition (PAC) symbolically renamed the stretch ‘Shaheed Felan­i Sarak’ and installed a protest signboard to draw attention to ongoing border killings.

With the interim government’s endorsement, the road has now been officially named Felan­i Avenue, giving formal recognition to a long-standing public demand.

SH