Former state minister and BNP vice chairman Mannan Abdul Mannan was laid to eternal rest in the capital on Wednesday.

He was buried at Azimpur Graveyard beside his wife’s grave after his fourth and final namaz-e-janaza at Dohar College field in the afternoon.

Mannan died at Evercare Hospital in the capital on Tuesday night at the age of 78 while undergoing treatment for kidney problem and other old-age complications.

His first namaz-e-jaanza was held at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office at 11am today (Wednesday).

After the janaza, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir together with party senior leaders paid last tributes to Mannan by placing wreaths at his coffin and draped it with a party flag as a mark of respect to him.

His second Janza was held at Dhanmondi Eidgah ground at 12pm, the third one in the field of Nawabganj’s Dalimpur Rahmania High School at 3pm and the fourth and final one in Dohar College field at 4pm.

Manna had been elected MP for four times from Dhaka-2 seat from 1991-2001 with BNP’s ticket. He was made the state minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism when BNP formed government in 1991.

He also worked as president of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He was also the district governor of Rotary Bangladesh.

Also read: Former state minister Mannan dies

The 36th death anniversary of Rear Admiral (retd) Mahbub Ali Khan, also a former minister for communications and agriculture, will be observed on Thursday.

Special prayers will be offered and Qurankhwani be held at different mosques in Dhaka, Sylhet, Bogura, Jamalpur, and Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and London to mark the day, said a press release on Wednesday.

Besides, wreaths will be placed at his Banani grave in Dhaka in the morning on the occasion.

Surovi, a voluntary organisation founded by the wife of MA Khan, will provide food to the students of different orphanages in the capital in observance of the day.

Khan was also the father-in-law of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.

Mahbub Ali Khan Smriti foundation is scheduled to arrange a virtual discussion-cum doa mahfil in the UK in observance of the day.

Describing Shaheed Sheikh Kamal as a versatile person, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said he could have contributed a lot to society had he been alive today.

“This multifaceted talent in one person is really rare…had Kamal been alive now, he could give many things to this society. He could have contributed (more) to all sectors of the country through development of his talents. He had contributed, too,” she said.

The Prime Minister said this while addressing a virtual discussion arranged marking the 71st birth anniversary of Shaheed Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sheikh Hasina joined the discussion from her official residence Ganobhaban. It was telecast live from Jatiya Kriya Parishad Bhaban.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports arranged the discussion-cum-Doa Mahfil on the 71st birth anniversary of Sheikh Kamal, the pioneer of modern sports in Bangladesh.

Hasina said Kamal was two years junior to her but he was mature in the case of knowledge, wisdom and many other things. “His talents were multifaceted. He was a sports organiser on one hand and had multifaceted potentials in the cultural arena on the other.”

Sheikh Kamal created a music brand titled ‘Spondon Shilpa Gosthi’ and had contribution towards founding Dhaka Theatre. “He used to act, sing songs and play Sitara,” Hasina said.

Kamal had great passion for Abahani and made it stronger, she said recalling when she and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were set to go to Germany on June 30, 1975 after Kamal’s marriage, Kamal asked her to bring Adidas boots for the players of his football team.

Hasina, in her emotion-choked voice, said her brother Kamal never sought anything for him.  

Talking about his contribution to politics, the Prime Minister said his simultaneous role in politics was also enormous.

She said Kamal, a valiant freedom fighter, had played active and bold role in every movement and struggle after the Six-Point Programme, particularly movements and the 1969 Mass Upsurge after the arrest of the Father of the Nation in the “Agartola conspiracy” case.

Hasina said he had actively participated in the Liberation War after having proper training.

She said the strange matter is that the birthdays of Kamal and her mother Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib are respectively the 5th and 8th August, the month she lost most of her family members.

PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman and State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid spoke at the function presided over by State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Zahid Ahsan Russel.

At the function, Sheikh Kamal’s friends recalled their memories with Kamal and focused on his works and life.

Hasina said Kamal also used to help their mother in the family and played a very responsible role since his childhood.

Mentioning that her brothers Kamal and Jamal were commissioned officers of Bangladesh Army, she said they along with other family members were killed brutally by those with whom he worked.

At the function, the Prime Minister unveiled the cover of a book written on Shaheed Sheikh Kamal.

Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque on Wednesday urged banks to come forward with easy loans to help create entrepreneurs in both agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.

The minister came up with the call at the inauguration programme of the 958th branch of Agrani Bank in Dhanbari upazila of Tangail from his official residence.

He said the importance of agriculture in the country’s economy is immense. The overall development of the country and sustainable poverty alleviation will be possible through development of agriculture.

“And to do this, we need to create entrepreneurs in both agriculture and non-agriculture sectors and cooperate with them in the development of rural economy,” said the minister.

He said there are many opportunities to create small entrepreneurs at the local level in agricultural processing, manufacturing and repairing of retail agricultural machinery in the country. For this, banks need to come forward with the attitude of creating entrepreneurs in these sectors.

Read Also: Top priority on agriculture to tackle food crisis amid corona: Razzaque

Entrepreneurs need to give loans on easy terms, said Razzaque.

Bangladesh reported 33 new deaths on Wednesday as the country’s officially confirmed cases inched towards 250,000.

The death tally now stands at 3,267. The country reported its first coronavirus death on March 18.  

Currently, the fatality rate is 1.31 percent. 

Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8. With the detection of 2,654 new cases on Wednesday, the country now has 2,46,674 confirmed cases.  

Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr Nasima Sultana noted that 1,890 patients have newly recovered. 

“So far, 1,41,750 patients have recovered and the recovery rate is 57.46 percent,” she said at a regular online briefing.

Eighty-six testing facilities of the country tested 11,160 new samples in a day. So far, 12,12,416 samples have been since March. 

The daily infection rate and overall infection rate against the number of total tests have been recorded at 23.78 percent and 20.35 percent respectively.  

Among the latest victims, two are aged between 31 and 40 years, four between 41 and 50, eight between 51 and 60, 10 between 61 and 70, six between 71 and 80, one between 81 and 90 and two others between 91 and 100 years. 

Read Also: Global Covid-19 death toll crosses 700,000

Dr Nasima said 18 patients died in Dhaka, nine in Chattogram and three in Rajshahi division while Khulna, Rangpur and Barishal divisions recorded one death each in the last 24 hours. 

As of Wednesday, men account for 78.79 percent and women account for 21.21 percent of total deaths recorded in the country. 

At present 18,455 people are in isolation while 53,350 are home and institutionally quarantined.

Global death toll 700,000

Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic in March.

The global Covid-19 deaths surpassed 700,000 on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The confirmed cases were at 18,540,119 in the morning.

The US has the highest number of cases (4,771,080) and deaths (156,801).

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has predicted that the effects of coronavirus will be felt for decades to come and urged everyone to learn to live the virus.

On Monday, he said a number of vaccines are now in phase 3 clinical trials but noted that there is no silver bullet at the moment, and there might never be.

“The message to people and governments is clear: do it all,” he stated, “and when it’s under control, keep going!”

Read Also: Coronavirus: Bangladesh reports 50 new deaths