Sharat Utsab 1432, an annual cultural festival organised by the Satyen Sen Shilpigosthi for the past 18 years, has been postponed due to security concerns at Bakultala at the Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University.
Manzarul Islam Chowdhury, the general secretary of Satyen Sen Shilpigosthi, said that the FFA of DU informed the organisers of the postponement late Thursday evening.
He expressed disappointment over the timing, noting that the last-minute change caused significant financial losses for the organisation.
鈥楢 group of individuals made false claims, accusing the event of fascist involvement, despite the fact that Sharat Utsab 1431 was held at the same venue in the past year, when we paid tribute to the martyrs of the student-led mass uprising and expressed condolences to the bereaved families,鈥� Manzurul said.
He said that they later moved the event to Kisholoy Kochi Kachar Mela in the capital鈥檚 Gandaria, but this too was called off due to police intervention.
Gandaria police station officer-in-charge Golam Mortuja denied the allegations and claimed that the organisers postponed the event due to their internal conflicts.
He claimed that a faction of the organisers and the locals raised concerns about security and some of them alleged that certain organisers had connection with the fascist regime.
OC Mortuja claimed that complaints from local school authorities about the event鈥檚 potential risks contributed to the presence of the police, ultimately leading to its cancellation.
The decision to postpone Sharat Utsab 1432 at the FFA of DU came in response to an application from the Fascibaad Birodhi Lekhok Sangbadik o Shilpisamaj (Anti-Fascism Writers and Artists Society), who requested the event鈥檚 cancellation over the allegations of fascist connections.
A press release issued by the FFA dean Azharul Islam Sheikh Chanchal confirmed the postponement, noting that the event, which was originally scheduled for Friday morning, will be rescheduled after further discussions.
A meeting between faculty members and event organisers has been scheduled for Saturday to address the allegations and determine a new date for the event.