Hamid and Hasina laid wreaths at the portrait of the Father of the Nation in front of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Dhanmondi Road No. 32 on Wednesday, KM Shakhawat Moon, deputy press secretary to the prime minister, said. A team of the Armed Forces offered a salute. The president and the prime minister paid their homage to the greatest Bengali ever, and stood in silence for some time. Bangabandhu’s youngest daughter Sheikh Rehana, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain were also present. Bangladesh is celebrating Mujib Year with added zeal and fervour with the addition of another momentous milestone for Bengalis: the golden jubilee of its independence. A 10-day programme has been organised to mark the occasions, beginning on Bangabandhu’s birthday on Wednesday before drawing the curtains on Mar 26, the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence. Five heads of state and government of neighbouring countries will join the first half of the event at the National Parade Ground, spanning five days. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, born on Mar 17, 1920 at Tungipara, Gopalganj, became the architect of Bangladesh leading the Bengalis to free themselves from oppression and achieve a sovereign country. The national flag has been hoisted at all government, semi-government, autonomous and private organisations, educational institutions and in the Bangladesh missions abroad. Wreaths will be placed at the mausoleum of Bangabandhu in Tungipara, on behalf of Hamid and Hasina. The Awami League was scheduled to pay its tribute to Bangabandhu at his mural in Dhanmondi later in the day. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, president of the Maldives, arrived in Dhaka to join the event on Bangabandhu’s birth anniversary at the National Parade Ground on Wednesday.
