Majority of 977 establishments named after Sheikh Hasina and family renamed

A total of 977 establishments and institutions across Bangladesh were named after Sheikh Hasina, her family members, and Awami League leaders during the party's 16-year rule, according to a statement from the Office of the Chief Adviser published on its official Facebook page.

The list includes a wide range of infrastructure—such as cantonments, air bases, naval vessels, mega bridges, highways, educational institutions, hospitals, and research centers—that bore the names of Sheikh Hasina, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and other ruling party figures.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, a nationwide initiative was launched to rename these institutions. The Office of the Chief Adviser confirmed that most of the renaming has already been completed, while work on the remaining establishments is ongoing.

In tandem with the renaming drive, murals and sculptures of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been removed from various public spaces. In several districts, local residents reportedly demanded that government facilities be renamed to reflect the identity or heritage of the region.

Notably, Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Avenue has been renamed Shaheed Abrar Avenue, in memory of BUET student Abrar Fahad, who was killed by Chattro League in 2019. Additionally, on the day the government changed hands, demonstrators removed the nameplate of the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway and renamed it Father of the Nation Ibrahim Expressway, honouring a symbolic figure widely embraced by the new administration and protest movement.