Mirzapur Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Absar Collected

‘The chairman had no intention of distributing the food supplies to begin with, he had called them over just to show-off his fake generosity to the media.’

A union parishad chairman has been accused of using government-funded relief materials as a means to get publicity by cheating poor families in Chittagong.

The incident took place in Mirzapur union of Hathazari upazila on Monday.

The distressed families say Mirzapur Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Absar, for the sake of self-promotion, had brought relief materials for them only to take them away after photos were taken showing him handing over the items.

Later, Nurul’s brother Mizan and his cohorts verbally abused them and chased them away, alleged the helpless families.

Breaking into tears, an elderly woman said that the chairman was wrong to misappropriate the relief materials.

Confirming the matter, Hathazari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) told Dhaka Tribune that men and women from 26 families came to make complaints against Nurul Absar.

“After receiving the complaint, we, on behalf of the upazila administration, distributed relief materials among the distressed people,” said the UNO.

Replying to a query, the UNO said: “The chairman had no intention of distributing food supplies to begin with; he had called them over just to show-off to the media.”

Sazeda Yasmin, a member of Mirzapur union parishad, calling the chairman a corrupt public representative, said that a no-confidence petition against the chairman was already filed with the Hathazari UNO.

Despite repeated attempts, the accused Nurul Absar could not be reached over phone for his comment with regards to the allegations.