Sylhet: A portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh, was unveiled at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) on Saturday.

University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Abdul Mannan unveiled the portrait set up beside the vice-chancellor’s office on the campus.

Abdul Mannan addressed the opening ceremony as the chief guest while registrar Ishfaqul Hussain moderated the programme with SUST vice-chancellor Aminul Haque Bhuyan in the chair.

The UGC chairman said, ‘I am delighted to be here as witness of this historical moment. Still, there are some people in the country who do not like Bangabandhu and the sprite of liberation. We could not save him from those people but we have to save his memory as long as Bangladesh exists.’

SUST vice-chancellor Aminul Haque Bhuyan thanked teachers, students and other employees for their assistance in this regard. He said, ‘The portrait has been commissioned after Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) SUST unit activists pushed for it since last year.’

Among others, the university treasurer Elias Uddin Biswas, student adviser Rashed Talukder, also the acting proctor, Second Students Hall provost SM Hasan Zakirul Islam, Shahparan Hall provost Muhshin Aziz Khan, First Girls Hall provost Amina Pervin, Sirajunnesa Chowdhury Hall provost Shareefa Yasmeen, and some other teachers, including Kabir Hossain, Aktharul Islam, and Zakir Hossain attended the programme.

Earlier, the UGC chairman was given the guard of honour by SUST unit BNCC platoon, directed by its commander Lieutenant Ashraful Karim and led by Sergeant Nasir Uddin.