Special Correspondent:

Fazlur Rahman, a legendary industrialist and an accomplished businessman in the country, is no more. Founder and Chairman of the City Group, died on Monday. City Group, a food and consumer market giant, best known by its famous brand Arrow (TEER), employs more than 50,000 and it is now one of the top three conglomerates in the country. 

Family members of Fazlur Rahman told Business Mirror that as Mr. Rahman felt uneasy after 2:30 am, he was taken to United Hospital, which is near his Gulshan residence. The 78-year-old legendary industrialist breathed his last at 4 am. 

The dead body of Mr. Rahman was kept in his residence until 2 pm Monday and later it was taken to Gandaria at the old town, where he was born, raised, and started his businesses. 

Late Fazlur Rahman’s Janaza (funeral) was held at 5 pm at Dhupkhola Playground and after the funeral, he was buried at Jurain Graviyad. The Janaza was attended by tens of thousands of locals, well-wishers, and business and political leaders from across the country.

Jute and Textile Minister Gazi Golam Dastagir, Former Mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation, Sayeed Khokon, Haji Mohammad Selim MP, Grassroot BNP leader Taimur Alam Khandker, Former BGMEA President Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, Meghna Group of Industries Chairman Mostafa Kamal and leaders of the Moulvibazar Merchant Association attended Mr. Rahman’s funeral at Dhupkhola.

“My father always took initiatives and worked accordingly keeping the interests of his motherland in mind always,” said Mohammad Hasan, the only son of Mr. Rahman and the Executive Director of the City Group.

Former Mayor Sayeed Khokon said that even being a producer and marketer of food items Mr. Rahman had been used to advise and help authorities to keep the market stable and the price of foods low during Ramadan and other periods of crisis in the market.        

Gazi Golam Dastagir said Fazlur Rahman was a great entrepreneur and self-made man who upheld honesty and trustworthiness throughout his life.’

“Fazlur Rahman showed the ways to his generation and his next generation that an honest and polite person can establish big businesses and operate successfully,” said Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez.       

Fazlur Rahman was born at Ganderia of Old Dhaka. He in his teenage years had started a business in 1958 with a small grocery store and later, after the country’s independence, in 1972, he started his industrial journey by setting up a traditional mill for extracting mustard oil. 

The legendary industrialist in the next 50 years, set up nearly 40 industrial units including flour-mill, soybean, palm oil, and sugar refineries. 

City Group also owns a large number of tea gardens in the country while in the non-food sector, it has industries for producing paper, PP Woven bags, and many more products. In the media sector City Group owns Somoy TV and Ekhon TV while in the financial sector, the group has stakes in a bank and capital market entities. 

Fazlur Rahman also established a world-class hospital, named Asgar Ali Hospital, as a memorial for his father. He also established several educational institutions and has been used to donate to many others.