The Rangpur municipality, located in north-western part of the country, has been turned into a city corporation.
The Local Government and Rural Development Ministry through a gazette notification on June 28 made the divisional town of Rangpur city corporation with effect from yesterday.
With this gazette notification, Rangpur has become the ninth city corporation in the country.
According to laws, an election to the newly formed city corporation has to be held within 180 days of publication of the gazette.
Farid Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Rangpur, told this correspondent that his office received a copy of the gazette notification around 10:30am yesterday.
As the news spread, people from all walks of life in the town came out on the streets, brought out colourful processions and exchanged greetings and sweetmeats expressing their joy.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a public gathering in the Rangpur Zilla School ground on January 8, 2011 announced the decision to upgrade the Rangpur municipality to a city corporation.
As the upgradation process had been getting delayed, people of the district on different occasions held programmes like long march, rally and road blockade to materialise their demand.
Earlier last year, Hasina, also the ruling Awami League president, at a meeting of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) asked for special budget allocation for Rangpur City Corporation.
The government declared Rangpur the seventh division of the country on January 24, 2010.