Old Sylhet Central Jail premises to be turned into public park, Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan Liberation War Museum
Sylhet Bureau
The government has decided to hand over the historic grounds of the former Sylhet Central Jail at Dhopadighirpar to the Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) for the construction of an aesthetic public park and the Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan Liberation War Museum.
The high-level decision was finalized during a meeting chaired by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday, as confirmed by the SCC Public Relations Department.
Under the approved plan, no commercial structures will be erected on the site, reserving the space entirely for green zones, walkways, public recreation, and the preservation of Bangladesh's Liberation War history. Current inmates will be relocated to the newly constructed jail facility at Badaghat, designated as Sylhet Central Jail-2.
The project fulfills an electoral pledge made by local Member of Parliament Khandakar Abdul Muktadir, following joint semi-official (DO) letters submitted by MP Muktadir and SCC Administrator Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury.
A Ministry of Home Affairs inspection committee reviewed the site and recommended the formal transfer of the property to the SCC, which received official ministerial approval during Thursday's meeting. Established in 1789, the Dhopadighirpar facility remained enclosed even after the opening of the Badaghat jail, and will now be fully redeveloped for public use.
