Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi zoologist,

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, and rights activists. He is the former chairman of the National River Conservation Commission. He is the chairman of the Centre for Governance Studies.

Early life

Chowdhury was born in Datta Para,

Shibchar Upazila Shibchar ( bn, শিবচর) is an upazila of Madaripur District in the Division of Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Geography Shibchar is located at . It has 58085 households and total area 321.88 km2. Demographics As of the 1991 Bangl ...

Madaripur District Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh. History Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakergan ...

. He graduated from

Dhaka College Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are af ...

. He completed his undergrad in Zoology and masters in Entomology from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. He conducted research at the

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission is a scientific research organization and regulatory body of Bangladesh. Its main objective is to promote use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes It was established on 27 February 1973, after the independen ...

. He completed his PhD at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Career

Chowdhury joined the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission as a scientific officer. He was a fellow at the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1 ...

. In 1989, he returned to Bangladesh and launched SAFEWAY, a pest control company. He worked at University of Dhaka, and Jahangirnagar University. In 2005, he lived in New York City. Chowdhury was the President of

Zoological Society of Bangladesh The Zoological Society of Bangladesh is an academic and scientific society of professional zoologist, devoted and dedicated for scientific inquiry in the field of Zoology. The Zoological Society of Bangladesh (ZSB) was established in 1972. It i ...

. He was the Chairman of Al-Helal Printing and Publishers Limited, which published the now defunct

The Bangladesh Observer ''The Bangladesh Observer'', founded by Hamidul Huq Choudhury in 1949, was the oldest, continuously published English-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh until it ceased publication in June 2010. History Since its inception as ''The Pakist ...

, which was the oldest English language newspaper at the time of its closing in 2010. In February 2022, Chowdhury, was appointed chairman of National River Conservation Commission. In September 2023, Chowdhury said interference from the government and lack of cooperation was making the commission ineffective. Chowdhury blamed

Dipu Moni Dipu Moni (born 8 December 1965) is a Bangladeshi politician, and has been the Minister of Education of Bangladesh since January 2019 and a Member of Parliament representing the Chandpur-3 constituency. She was Foreign Minister of Bangladesh fr ...

, Minister of Education and member of parliament, for getting the Chandpur District Commissioner and a Hilsa fish researcher removed. He called for the jailing of

Atiqul Islam Atiqul Islam ( bn, আতিকুল ইসলাম; born 1 July 1961) is a Bangladeshi politician, businessman and the current mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation. He was elected in the position in the by-election held on 28 February 2019 an ...

, Mayor of North Dhaka City, and Taqsem A Khan, managing director of

Dhaka WASA Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority () is a Bangladesh government agency under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives responsible for water and sewage in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and Narayanganj. Taqse ...

, for failing in their duties to protect rivers. He also criticized the budget of 50 million BDT as being insufficient. On 18 October 2023, the government of Bangladesh removed him citing "public interest". The removal was criticized by

Transparency International Bangladesh Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is the Bangladeshi branch of the Berlin-based Transparency International, a civil society organisation dedicated to fighting against corruption. History TIB started its activities in 1996. In 2016 it ...

saying it contradicted governments commitment to protect rivers. The Daily Star wrote a critical editorial against his removal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Manjur Ahmed Living people People from Madaripur District Dhaka College alumni University of Dhaka alumni University of Georgia alumni Bangladeshi entomologists Year of birth missing (living people)