A road stretching from Gulshan-2 to Pragati Sarani has officially been renamed “Felan­i Avenue” in memory of Felan­i Khatun, the teenage girl killed by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in 2011.

The announcement first came on Tuesday from former Local Government adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, who shared the update in a post on his verified Facebook page before stepping down from office.

He wrote that the diplomatic zone road from Gulshan-2 to Pragati Sarani would henceforth carry the name Felan­i Avenue to honour the 15-year-old who became a symbol of outrage against border killings.

As naming and renaming of roads fall under city corporation jurisdiction, the responsibility in this case lies with the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Confirming the development, DNCC Administrator Mohammad Azaz told PanBD on Thursday that all official procedures for the renaming had already been completed.

“DNCC has formally renamed the Gulshan-2 to Progoti Sarani road as Felan­i Avenue. All necessary documentation is done,” he said.

Regarding the inauguration timeline, Azaz said, “The nameplate for Felan­i Avenue will be installed and unveiled at any time in December.”

Felan­i Khatun was shot dead by BSF on January 7, 2011, at the Anantapur border point in Kurigram’s Fulbari upazila while returning to Bangladesh with her father. Her body was left hanging on the barbed-wire fence for hours, sparking widespread outrage in national and international media.

Since then, various groups have repeatedly demanded that the road in front of the Indian High Commission in Gulshan be named after Felan­i.

On September 13, 2024, the Peoples’ Activist Coalition (PAC) symbolically named the road “Shaheed Felan­i Sarak” and installed an unofficial signboard in protest against border killings. Now, the interim government has officially renamed the stretch as Felan­i Avenue.