All major March 17 celebrations postponed
All major March 17 celebrations marking Bangabandhu's birth centenary have been postponed due to the coronavirus situation, Awami League sources told The Daily Star last night.
The decision was made at a meeting of the AL Central Executive Committee at the Gono Bhaban in presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
All public programmes of the AL, including those marking the Black Night on March 25 and Independence Day on March 26, have been suspended. The party's ongoing district and upazila-level conferences will also remain suspended, said meeting sources.
The PM would address the nation regarding the coronavirus in a day or two, the sources added.
BSS reports: Speaking at the meeting, Hasina said, "As the lethal virus has caused panic worldwide, it is our responsibility and duty to concentrate on the safety and health of the people. That's why we have rearranged the birth centenary celebration programmes of Bangabandhu."
She said celebrating the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation is a big occasion for the nation. "However, we will celebrate it in a different way so that the gathering of the people is less and they don't fall in risk."
The PM said the inaugural ceremony of Bangabandhu's birth centenary would be held on a limited scale on March 17.
She said other programmes, including placing of wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu on Dhanmondi-32 in Dhaka and placing of wreaths at the grave of the Father of the Nation in Tungipara, Gopalganj would go on as per schedule.
"However, the children's rally in Tungipara will be held on a limited scale," she mentioned.
Speaking about coronavirus, Hasina called upon the people to follow the health rules properly and remain neat and clean. "There is nothing to be worried about… there may be some risk for the elderly people, but the youths need not to be worried."
She said those suffering from cold-related diseases would have to remain careful about the virus, but there was no need to wear mask unnecessarily.
"All have become crazy for buying masks and sanitizers. They are purchasing those in huge quantities. This is happening not only in Bangladesh, but also elsewhere in the world."
Meanwhile, Bangabandhu's Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee yesterday announced that the Mujib Year programmes would be launched through electronic and social media under the revised plan amid coronavirus outbreak across the world.
"Celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be inaugurated through televisions and other electronic and social media," Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, chief coordinator of the committee, told a media briefing in the capital.
He said a technical team, led by lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor, would draw up a new detailed plan for the opening of the yearlong celebrations.
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