United News of Bangladesh

Ekushey Padak conferred short-story writer and novelist Hasan Azizul Huq, who was undergoing treatment due to several health issues, passed away at his Rajshahi residence in the Bihas residential area  on Monday night. He was 82.The news of his passing was confirmed by his son and associate professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology Department at Rajshahi University, Imtiaz Hasan. Rajshahi University vice-chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar Tapu said the dead body will be brought to Rajshahi University central shaheed minar at 12pm on Tuesday and ‘Namaj e Janana’ will be held at 01.20 pm at the central mosque of the university, after which he will be laid to rest at the Rajshahi University graveyard. Read:Hasan Azizul Huq taken to Rajshahi home after treatmentBack in August, Hasan Azizul Huq was brought to Dhaka via an air ambulance after falling seriously ill with imbalanced electrolytes and heart disease. He returned home a few days later.In addition to these, he had age-related health issues, heart problems and diabetes.He was first admitted to National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute. A 16-member medical board was formed for his treatment. Later he was shifted to BSMMU where another medical board of five doctors was formed.Born in Jabgraam in the Burdwan district of West Bengal in 1939, Hasan Azizul Huq completed his post-graduation from Rajshahi University in 1960. He served as a faculty in the Department of Philosophy of the same University from 1973 till 2004.Considered as one of the most prominent writers and a legendary litterateur in the country, Huq received many prestigious awards in his literary career including the Bangla Academy Literary Award (1970), Ekushey Padak (1999), Ananda Puroshkar (2008), Independence Award (2019), Lekhok Shibir Puroshkar and more, for his contribution to Bengali literature. Kobi Kunjo general secretary Ariful Haque Kumar said Hasan Azizul Huq always worked for the people and the society of this country during crises. "Losing Hasan Azizul Huq is a great loss for this country. He is irreplaceable," Kumar added.  Sazzad Bokul, associate professor of Mass Communication and Journalism department of Rajshahi University, said he was initially a short-story writer who later ventured into novels like ‘Agunpakhi’. "Now we will be deprived of getting some extraordinary fiction from him. He was also a social activist," Bokul added.