Dhaka turns red and green as thousands attend victory procession

Dhaka on Saturday turned red and green as thousands of people attended the victory procession "Bijoy Shovajatra," organised by the ruling Bangladesh Awami League, to mark the golden jubilee of the country's independence.

The procession started from the premises of Suhrawardy Uddyan, the historic place where the oppressor Pakistani military surrendered to the freedom fighters 50 years ago, at around 3pm and moved through National Press Club, Shahbag, Elephant Road, Mirpur Road, and ended at Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi-32.

All the units of the Awami League and its allies from the capital city and nearby districts and people from all walks of life took part in the procession, wearing red and green dresses.

With the rhythm of patriotic songs, and music they joined the event. Some came to the procession with freedom fighters' looks, some riding on elephants and horses. Smiles, enthusiasm, and vigour were seen on their faces.

The procession stepped forward with the "Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu" slogan.

Apart from Dhaka's event, rallies were brought out in different districts across the country on the day, in which thousands of activists and leaders of the Awami League participated with outbreaking emotion and courage.

The participants in Dhaka's rally were seen holding the national flag, portraits of Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina, different banners and placards. They also carried paintings of boats, tanks used in the Liberation War, and musical instruments. The placards also showed different development projects being implemented by the incumbent government.

Due to the people gathering and the large rally, several roads have been closed and the vehicles had to use alternate routes.

AL Advisory Council Member and 14-party alliance spokesperson and coordinator Amir Hossain Amu chaired the rally.

AL presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Abdur Razzaque, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman and AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Education Minister Dipu Moni, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud, organising secretaries Ahmed Hossain, BM Mozammel Haque, Abu Sayeed Al Mahmud Swapan, SM Kamal Hossain, Mirza Azam, Advocate Afjal Hossain and Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel, Liberation War Affairs Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, Dhaka city north AL President Sheikh Bazlur Rahman, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam, Dhaka city south AL General Secretary Humayun Kabir and Joint General Secretary Morshed Kamal also spoke, among others.

In the inaugural ceremony, Amir Hossain Amu said, "The victory that we achieved under the leadership of Bangabandhu was planned to be destroyed by an unscrupulous group. But they cannot hinder us. We are now celebrating the golden jubilee of the victory under Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina's leadership."

Mentioning the conspiracy against the country, he urged all to remain united to build Sonar Bangla dreamt by Bangabandhu.

After the rally, the Bangladesh Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader thanked all the activists and leaders of his party and people who attended the events and made these a success. He also expressed gratitude to the law enforcement agencies for cooperating with them.

Quader, in a press statement, said the capital turned into a city of the rally in the afternoon with dozens of thousands of people's participation.

"The spontaneous participation of the people in the rally expressed undoubted support to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and strong promise to tackle any conspiracy in future," he added.

On traffic congestion due to the rally, the minister expressed grief on behalf of the party.

The general secretary urged all to continue to support the Awami League like the previous days.