Bangladesh unveiled new currency notes on Sunday — replacing images of founding father Mujibur Rehman with famous artwork and images of temples. The first President of Bangladesh has been featured on all banknotes since the country was formed in 1971. The interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus had announced plans to revamp the Bangladeshi currency in a phased manner last year with new themes incorporating the ‘historical and archaeological architecture of Bangladesh’.
According to local media reports, new Tk 1000, Tk 50 and Tk 20 notes hit the market on Sunday with motifs including Hindu and Buddhist temples and famous artwork. Officials had indicated earlier this week that new designs would be introduced for banknotes of all denominations. However the first phase — ahead of Eid — will only include these amounts. The newly revamped currency notes will initially be released from the Bangladesh Bank’s main office in Dhaka. Existing notes and coins featuring the founding father of Bangladesh will continue to remain in circulation alongside the new notes.
“Under the new series and design, the notes will not feature any human portraits, but will instead showcase natural landscapes and traditional landmarks. The new notes will be issued from the central bank’s headquarters, and later from its other offices across the country,” Bangladesh Bank spokesman Arif Hossain Khan reportedly told AFP.
Reports quoting the publication also indicated that the new notes would feature images of Hindu and Buddhist temples, artwork of late Zainul Abedin, and the national martyrs memorial — which honours those who died during the 1971 liberation war.
The development came even as a Bangladesh tribunal indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday for her role in a violent crackdown against student-led protests. Mass murder charges were levelled against the ousted leader — with the prosecution accused Hasina of exercising absolute authority to ruthlessly suppress the uprising. The International Crimes Tribunal also issued a fresh arrest warrant against the Awami League chief and then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
(With inputs from agencies)