Tributes pour in for Gaffar Chowdhury
People from different walks of life have paid tribute to noted journalist and columnist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury at Central Shaheed Minar.
Gaffar's body was taken to the Shaheed Minar, in Dhaka, at 1pm on Saturday.
Hundreds of people paid their respects to the "Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano" lyricist.
A namaz-e-janaza was be held at the Dhaka University Central Mosque around 3pm.
His mortal remains will be taken to the National Press Club for the journalists to pay their homage at 4pm.
As per schedule, Gaffar will be buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Mirpur at 5:30pm.
The remains of Gaffar reached Dhaka from London on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight today morning (28 May).
A delegation which included Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan, State Minister for Aviation Md Mahbub Ali, Awami League Presidium Member Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, and Awami League Office Secretary Biplob Barua were present at the airport to receive the body.
Bangladesh's national flag was draped over the body after it was taken off the plane. The government delegation then paid their respects to the departed writer by placing wreath.
Chowdhury went to London in 1974 for his wife's treatment, thanks to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On 19 May, the veteran writer died of a cardiac arrest at a hospital in London. He was 88.
The Bangladeshi-British community and other admirers paid their last respects to Chowdhury following his first namaz-e-janaza held at London's Brick Lane Mosque the next day.
