New BPS executive committee takes charge

The newly elected executive committee of the Bangladesh Poribeshbid Society (BPS) for 2026–2028 formally took charge from the outgoing committee at a handover ceremony held at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday.

The ceremony, which began at 3:00pm, marked the transfer of responsibilities and outlined the new committee's priorities for promoting environmental protection, conservation and sustainable development in Bangladesh.

Abu Jafar Md Saleh, chief election commissioner of the BPS Election Commission, chaired the programme and presided over the handover of responsibilities.

The programme included the introduction of the new committee, reading of the election resolution and a symbolic exchange of a crest and official documents between the outgoing and incoming committees.

Abu Jubayer of Khulna University, the newly elected president of the BPS executive committee, proposed forming a national panel of environmental experts to support government policymaking.

Md Abdul Kader Talukder of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, vice-president-1, proposed introducing automatic membership for all officials and employees of the Department of Environment.

Subrato Kumar Dey of Khulna University, vice-president-2, proposed establishing a dedicated environmental cadre service to strengthen professional capacity and environmental governance.

FM Ashraful Alam of Jashore University of Science and Technology, director (administration); Md Atiqur Rahman Mollick of North South University, director (public relations and communication); and Md Mostafezur Rahman Rabbi of Jashore University of Science and Technology, director (environmental awareness), also spoke at the event.

They stressed the importance of strong institutions, skilled professionals and effective policies in building a greener and more sustainable Bangladesh.

Dr Md Shibly Sadik, senior policy adviser at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Professor Dr Md Sirajul Islam of the Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University; and Dr Mohammad Moshiur Rahman, associate professor of the Department of Environmental Science and Management at North South University, attended as special guests.

Other environmental experts, academics, development partners and media representatives also attended the programme.

The event featured speeches by outgoing committee leaders, discussions on the organisation's future action plan and a question-and-answer session. It concluded with closing remarks, a group photograph and refreshments.