President Hamid to move into Nikunja home after 10 years at Bangabhaban

Md Abdul Hamid will stay at his home in Dhaka’s Nikunja, leaving the Bangabhaban after the end of his second term as president.

Hamid is set to hand over his mantle to Mohammed Shahabuddin on Monday after the latter’s oath-taking ceremony at the presidential palace, where Hamid has resided for a record 10 years.

After being elected MP in 1996, Hamid got a 2,160 square feet plot at Nikunja and built a three-storey house there.

Workers have started shifting furniture and belongings of Hamid’s family to Nikunja, according to Joynal Abedin, the president’s press secretary.

The law-enforcement agencies have strengthened security at Nikunja ahead of Hamid’s arrival. “We’ve taken all sorts of necessary security steps,” said Inspector Enamul Haque of Khilkhet Police Station.

According to the rules, the outgoing president will cap the formalities by welcoming the new president to his chair after the swearing-in ceremony.

Hamid will also introduce Shahabuddin to the Bangabhaban officials. The President Guard Regiment will give Hamid a guard of honour. The Bangabhaban officials will line up to see him off and sprinkle flower petals on him. A decorated car will carry Hamid to his new home.

During a meeting with journalists at the Bangabhaban in March, Hamid invited them to his new home in advance.

He said he would also spend time at his ancestral home in Kishoreganj’s Mithamoin. He will now focus on writing the second part of his autobiography, ‘Amar Jibonneeti, Amar Rajneeti’. Hamid chronicled events from his childhood to January 1972 in the book published during the Ekushey Book Fair in February.

After the end of his presidency, Hamid will continue to get a pension, treatment allowance and facilities under the law.

The pension will be equivalent to 75 percent of his salary as president. He can also claim gratuity. The president’s monthly salary is Tk 120,000 in line with the President’s (Remuneration and Privileges Act).

Hamid will also get a private secretary and an attendant. His medical facilities will be equal to that of a minister.

At home, he will have a telephone connection, a diplomatic passport, and a free stay at government circuit houses or guesthouses while travelling in Bangladesh. The government will fix his office cost.

Born on Jan 1, 1944 at Kishoreganj's Mithamoin, the career politician worked his way up to the top from the grassroots.

Hamid was sworn in as Bangladesh's 20th president on Apr 24, 2013 after the death of Md Zillur Rahman.

Hamid and his wife have three sons and a daughter.