No bar to shifting Ahmed Sofa's grave to Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard: DNCC administrator

There is no administrative barrier to shifting the grave of renowned writer and posthumous Ekushey Padak recipient Ahmed Sofa from the Mirpur General Graveyard to the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan has said.

He made the remarks while speaking to journalists after visiting Hatirjheel on Saturday, June 27.

The DNCC administrator said the clearance from the Deputy Commissioner's office was awaited, and the approval has now been received. The family can now proceed with the process at any time.

Earlier, Ahmed Sofa's family had alleged that administrative complications were delaying the relocation. After the matter was reported in the media, Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam sent a letter to the DNCC Chief Executive Officer on Thursday, June 25, granting permission.

Writer Salimullah Khan said the relocation had been stalled for a long time due to bureaucratic complications. After the media highlighted the issue, the process accelerated.

He said Ahmed Sofa's birth anniversary is on June 30 and his death anniversary is on July 28, and he has urged the concerned authorities to complete the relocation within this time.

Salimullah Khan also said a plot has been reserved for Ahmed Sofa next to the grave of National Professor Abdur Razzaq at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard.

Ahmed Sofa's nephew and writer Nurul Anwar had applied to DNCC in January this year for the relocation, stating that it was necessary to honour the writer's contribution to Bengali literature, social thought and the intellectual sphere. Sofa, a prominent writer and intellectual, died in 2001. His first grave was at the Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard, but was later shifted without proper authorisation.