RAJSHAHI, MAY 25 (V7N) – A large gathering and rally were held in Rajshahi today to commemorate the 49th anniversary of Maulana Bhashani's historic Farakka Long March. The event, organized by the Rajshahi 49th Farakka Long March Day Celebration Committee, took place at the Saheb Bazar Grand Mosque premises in the city.

Former Vice-Chancellor of Islamic University, M. Rafiqul Islam, addressed the gathering as the chief guest. Mizanur Rahman Minu, an advisor to the BNP Chairperson and former City Mayor, was the main speaker. Other speakers included Mohammad Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, BNP National Executive Committee's Forest and Environment Affairs Secretary and former City Mayor, and Dr. G. M. Shafiur Rahman, Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rajshahi University and President of the Bhashani Foundation's RU branch. The event was presided over by Dr. Md. Wasim Hossain, Convener of the Farakka Long March Day Celebration Committee and President of DAB Rajshahi.

Speakers at the rally declared that "Farakka Dam has become a national crisis for Bangladesh." They asserted that if necessary, leadership akin to Maulana Bhashani would emerge to secure a fair share of Farakka water. They recounted that 49 years ago, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani led a long march from Rajshahi to Chapainawabganj to demand a fair share of water from the Padma River, a crisis that remains unresolved. Consequently, they announced plans for another long march on foot from Rajshahi to the Chapainawabganj border to press for water rights, aiming to build a movement against the Farakka Dam.

The speakers highlighted that India inaugurated the Farakka Dam on May 16, 1976. Upon realizing that the Farakka Dam posed a "death trap" for Bangladesh, the revered public leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani initiated the Farakka Long March from the Madrasa Ground in Rajshahi. Despite 49 years having passed since that historic march, they claimed, India continues to deprive Bangladesh of its equitable water rights. They noted that while assurances of fair water rights have been discussed, the people of Bangladesh have yet to see any such assurances materialize. The speakers emphasized that due to the Farakka Dam upstream, approximately 44 common rivers in Bangladesh are now on the verge of extinction, having "turned into deserts due to lack of water."

Furthermore, the speakers at the rally insisted that "no more politicization of the Farakka Water Agreement can be allowed. This is a matter of life and death for the people of the country." They called for arrangements to be made for discussions in the international arena to realize the right to water, asserting that "The people of Bangladesh have started raising their voices."

Among others present were Advocate Enamul Haque, President of the Save River and Environment Movement Bangladesh Rajshahi; Advocate Toufiq Ahsan Titu, President of the Safe Roads Rajshahi District Branch; Alhaj Farid Mamud Hasan, General Secretary of the Rajshahi Business Unity Council; Advocate Jamshed Ali, General Secretary of the Rajshahi District Bar Association; and Advocate Abul Hasnat Beg, Coordinator of the State Reform Movement Rajshahi District Branch.

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