Preparation on for D.Litt to Hasina

Kolkata: The countdown for the moment when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be conferred D.Litt by Kazi Nazrul Islam University in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, has begun with the last minute preparation for the programme going on in full swing.

This comes a day after the Visva-Bharati University convocation, where both Hasina and Banerjee were present, besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjee reached Santiniketan on Thursday evening and she had entered the area amidst hundreds of people, who had been waiting for a long time to get a glimpse of the Chief Minister, under whose supervision Bengal has witnessed an overall development in the past seven years.

After attending the convocation, Banerjee addressed the gathering, in the inaugural function of Bangladesh Bhavan.

After attending the programmes in Visva-Bharati, the Chief Minister tweeted: "Today I was present in the Convocation Ceremony of Visva Bharati at Santiniketan. My heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all recipients of awards and degrees. I also convey my best wishes to all students, alumni, officials and the entire faculty of Visva Bharati on this occasion. Later, I was present in the inauguration ceremony of Bangladesh Bhavan at Santiniketan. This is indeed a new milestone in India-Bangladesh relations and sweet ties of friendship and brotherhood of the people of Bangladesh and Bengal. My best wishes to all."

When people from both the countries were glued to their television sets watching the programmes held at Visva Bharati, authorities of Kazi Nazrul Islam University were busy with the last minute preparations for the programme in which the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chief Minister Banerjee are going to share the dais.

While the authorities were taking all necessary steps to ensure that the programme passes without any trouble with no untoward incident taking place, students of the university were busy in their rehearsals of the cultural

performances that would

take place during the programme.

The Chief Minister said on Friday at the inaugural programme of Bangladesh Bhavan: "Brothers and sisters from Bangladesh would feel happy to know that Kazi Nazrul Islam University has been set up in Bengal, where Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be visiting on Saturday. We have also set up an airport, an academy and Nazrul Tirtha in his name. There are chairs in his name."

Hasina said that Kazi Nazrul Islam is the national poet of her country and she feels glad that she is going to get honoured by the university on Saturday.

The Bangladesh PM came to Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata, after attending the programmes in Visva-Bharati. She was accompanied by her sister Rehana. The state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim and IT minister Bratya Basu felicitated her. She also visited the museum in Thakurbari.