The visiting Indian President Ram Nath Kovind today (Dec 15) paid rich tributes to the memory of the martyrs of the Liberation War in 1971 at the National Memorial in Savar on the outskirts of the capital.

He reached the National Memorial boarding on a helicopter at about 12:25 pm and paid homage to the national heroes by placing wreath there.

On his arrival there, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, State Minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed and General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 9 Infantry Division of Bangladesh Army Major General Shaheenul Haque and high civil and military officials welcomed the Indian president.

A smartly turned-out contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force gave him a guard of honour while the bugles played the last post.

The Indian President planted a sapling of “Ashok Tree” on the memorial premises and signed the visitors’ book on the occasion.

Ram Nath Kovind left the National Memorial around 12:50 pm for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum in the capital's Dhanmondi no. 32.

Strict security measures were taken at the memorial and its adjacent areas ahead of his visit there.

Earlier in the morning, Kovind arrived in Dhaka on a three-day official visit to join the grand celebrations of the golden jubilee of the country's independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

President M Abdul Hamid along with his wife Rashida Khanam received his Indian counterpart with a bouquet at Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport (HISA).

BDST: 1555 HRS, DEC 15, 2021
SMS