Staff Correspondent

Minister for Housing and Public Works war-wounded freedom fighter RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, MP, on Monday inaugurated Peace Monument built with Bangladesh's own fund on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Peace Park in Nagasaki, Japan.

Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan Shahabuddin Ahmad, Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Public Works Md. Nabirul Islam and Mayor of Nagasaki Shiro Suzuki were present at the event.

It may be noted that as part of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's quest for a nuclear bomb-free, peaceful world to convey the message of 'culture of peace' to the people of Japan and the world, the Bangladesh government proposed the construction of a peace monument at the Nagasaki Peace Park.

In this context, on behalf of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, the Minister of Housing and Public Works inaugurated the monument.

At the inauguration ceremony , Minister of Housing and Public Works Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury thanked the Mayor of Nagasaki and all those involved in the project, including Bangladesh and Japan, for their overall cooperation in the construction of the monument.

Designed by architect Anindya Pandit, the 3- meter high monument is made of black granite and white marble stones. The monument was constructed by the Directorate of Public Works under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works in collaboration with the Embassy of Bangladesh in Tokyo.

Before the ceremony, a minute's silence was observed at 11:02 a.m. to coincide with the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945.

After the unveiling of the monument, the delegation of Bangladesh led by Minister of Public Works Ubaidul Moktadir Chowdhury laid wreaths at the center of the nuclear bomb explosion. He visited the Shanti-Smriti (Peace Memorial) Museum and wrote comments in the visitor's book there.

In the afternoon Nagasaki Mayor Suzuki hosted a lunch in honor of the Bangladesh delegation. In his speech at the lunch, Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed thanked Mayor Suzuki for his overall cooperation and sincerity in organizing the event successfully.

Additional Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Public Works Hamidur Rahman Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission of Bangladesh Embassy Shah Asif Rahman, Head of Embassy Sheikh Farid and Second Secretary (Press) Md Imranul Hasan were present on the occasion.