Cox's Bazar journos visit families of July Uprising martyrs

COX'S BAZAR, Aug 3: Leaders of the Cox's Bazar Press Club and the Cox's Bazar Journalists' Union on Sunday visited the families and graves of four people killed during the July 2024 mass uprising as part of a week-long programme marking July Uprising Day.

The Day's programme began in the morning at Kalarmarchhara in Maheshkhali, where the delegation met the family of martyr Tanvir Siddiqui, including his father, and later offered prayers at his grave.

During the visit, local residents spoke about their hardship and urged the administration and journalist leaders to help address their concerns, including allegations of past intimidation by local political actors. Leaders of the local BNP and its associate bodies were also present.

Later, the delegation visited the grave of Mohammad Wasim Akram in Pekua's Mehernama area. Wasim, regarded by organisers as one of the leading figures of the July uprising and Chattogram's first martyr, was remembered through prayers and a grave visitation attended by local journalists.

After Zuhr prayers, the delegation travelled to Fasiyakhali in Chakaria, where they visited the grave of Ahsan Habib at the Baitur Rahman Jam-e-Mosque graveyard and met his family. Habib's father, Mohammad Helal Uddin, and younger brother, Raihan Habib, called for exemplary punishment of those responsible for the killing.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited Eidgaon, where they paid respects at the graves of Nurul Amin and Nurul Mostafa. Representatives of the two organisations also presented gifts to the martyrs' family members.

The programme was attended by Cox's Bazar Press Club President Mahbubur Rahman, Vice-President Kamal Hossain Azad, General Secretary Mumtaz Uddin Bahari, Cox's Bazar Journalists' Union President Nurul Islam Helaly, and other journalists and media representatives.

The organisers said the week-long programme will continue with a July-themed graffiti and poetry recitation competition, a Quran recitation, discussion and prayer session on August 4, followed by participation in official observances on August 5. They invited journalists and members of the public to take part in the remaining events.