Israfil Alam MP no more
Md Israfil Alam, Awami League lawmaker from Naogaon-6, died at a city hospital yesterday.
He was 54.
He was undergoing treatment at Square Hospitals with breathing problems. He passed away around 6:20am.
The lawmaker had tested positive and then negative for coronavirus this month.
Israfil was admitted to the hospital for the second time on July 17 as he started coughing up blood, said his wife Sultana Pervin Beauty.
He was put on life support on Friday as his condition deteriorated, she said.
According to Pervin, Israfil was infected with novel coronavirus and was admitted to the hospital on July 6.
He returned home on July 14 as his follow-up test report came out negative for Covid-19.
Israfil had become MP for the first time in 2008 when he was the general secretary of Sramik League's Dhaka city unit. He was elected MP thrice, including in the 10th and 11th parliamentary elections.
Besides, Israfil was the joint secretary of Naogaon district Awami League, president of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Federation, and member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
CONDOLENCES POUR IN
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Israfil.
In a message, the president said the lawmaker had entered the political arena through labour politics. He always spoke about the rights of the hard-living common people in the Jatiya Sangsad.
"At his death, the country has lost a promising and dedicated political leader," Hamid said.
In a condolence message, the prime minister said Israfil throughout his life worked for the welfare of the country and the nation.
She prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed sympathy for his bereaved family members.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Deputy Speaker M Fazle Rabbi Miah and Chief Whip Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury also expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of the lawmaker.
Besides, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahabuddin, Planning Minister Abdul Mannan, Education Minister Dipu Moni, Food Minister Shadon Chandra Mazumder, LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque, Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, LGRD State Minister Swapan Bhattacharjee, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilantun Nessa Indira, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossain, State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russel, State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid and DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam mourned Israfil's death.