The inauguration of Mujib Year, which was scheduled to be held at the National Parade Square on March 17, has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Considering the global risk of coronavirus, and to avoid the public gathering, it has been decided to hold the Mujib Year inauguration program at a more convenient date and time … We are now prioritizing the public interest,” said Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, chief coordinator of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee.
Naser Chowdhury made the announcement at a press conference after a meeting at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka on Monday.
The meeting was held with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, and a few other parliamentarians.
Naser Chowdhury said the program would not be cast in the grand scale as it was earlier : “We decided to broadcast the program via television and social media so that people, even at the rural level, can enjoy it sitting at home.”
“On March 17, wreaths shall be placed at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhaka, and programs in Bangabandhu's Mausoleum in Tungipara, including all educational and government institutions, will be held in a limited way,” he said adding: “[However] public gathering gatherings should be avoided.”
Chief Coordinator of the National Committee to implement Mujib Year Celebrations Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury speaks during a press briefing at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka on Monday, March 9, 2020 | PID
At the meeting the new program’s plan was discussed which will be finalized by the prime minister. The whole program schedule would be disclosed later.
Asked if there would be any kind of involvement of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the program, he said, the foreign ministry would address this in a press briefing today.
However, there will be no change in the plan of organizing year-long programs, and foreign dignitaries would join as well.
New committee formed to organize program
A new committee, headed by MP Asaduzzaman Noor, has been formed to organize the program, including Tagore singer Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, state ministers of cultural and foreign affairs, DGs of different organizations and so on.
On Sunday, citing the issue of public health, the authorities concerned decided to reschedule the Mujib Year programs, at a meeting at Ganabhaban. Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana – daughters of Bangabandhu – attended the meeting.
The announcement came hours after the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) confirmed that three people in Bangladesh were tested positive for Covid-19, a new strain of coronavirus that has so far killed over 3,600 people worldwide.
Until Sunday, more than 107,000 coronavirus cases were recorded across 105 countries and territories around the world.
A number of heads of governments of different countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were invited to join the March 17 ceremony.
But, under the circumstances at home and abroad, Naser said many foreign dignitaries for now have decided not to attend the event.
