The government made the announcements at a meeting of the National Implementation Committee on Administrative Reorganisation (NICAR) on August 26 in Dhaka.

Juri upazila will comprise eight unions, four each taken from Kulaura and Baralekha upazilas, according to the district administration.

The unions are Jayfarnagar, Sagarnal, Fultala, Goalbari (take from Kulaura upazila) and Purbojuri, Paschimjuri, Dakshinbhug (South) and Sujanagar (taken from Baralekha upazila).

After creation of Juri upazila, the number of unions in Kulaura upazila has decreased to 19 and that in Baralkha upazila to eight.

With Juri, the number of upazilas in Moulvibazar district is now seven.

Different socio-cultural and political organisations hailed the government decision.

Moulvibazar district BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Awami Party (NAP), Moulvibazar Press Club, Moulvibazar Journalists Association and the district unit of Bangladesh College Teachers Association hailed the government decisions.

Talking to this correspondent, Moulvibazar Pourasava Chairman and district BNP Secretary Fayzul Karim Mayun thanked Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman for the decisions. "It is because of him that the government took the decisions", he said. Now Moulvibazar will get more allocations for development, he added.

The Jaityatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), ruling BNP's students' wing, brought out a procession in the town hailing the decisions.

BNP leaders including Mayun also joined the procession.

People also came out on streets in Juri and distributed sweets after hearing the news of creation of the new upazila.

Local BNP, Jamaat and Juri Traders Association brought separate processions.

A big public meeting was also held at Juri Bazar on Friday with district BNP Vice President Asad Uddin Badal in the chair. Leaders of different political parties and socio-cultural organisations spoke at the meeting, expressing gratitude to Saifur Rahman.

Meanwhile the people of Shamsernagar reiterated their demand for creation of a upazila there. Leaders of different political parties at Shamseruagar said a survey done by the government recommended creation of a upazila in Shamsernagar but the government is yet to take any decision in this regard.