Monihar cinema reopens during Eid

Dhaka, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com) – Monihar, the country's largest cinema hall, is going to resume operations from the very first day of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival after around one-month closure.

The management declared the cinema hall closed on July 21 following repeated incidents of extortion and criminal attack.

The hall commenced its operation on December 8, 1983 near Jessore Bus Terminal with modern facilities. After inauguration, it became a prime entertainment centre.

Manager of the cinema hall Shamim Ahmed told bdnews24.com on Friday that they held discussions with local political leaders and the administration and they assured the hall management of resolving the problems.

"We hope that it will be possible to reopen the cinema hall from the first day of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival," he added.

Ahmed said the cinema hall was closed last month for an indefinite period in the face of recurrent incidents of extortion, criminal attack and threat given to the owner of the cinema hall.

He said some criminals led by a local influential political leader had vandalised the cinema hall as he was not given the money demanded as extortion.

The criminals had looted money from the cash and threatened to kill the owner, Ziaul Islam Mithu. They vandalised the hall again on July 16.

Replying to a written query from a lawmaker during the question-answer session in parliament on June 28, Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad said as many as 750 cinema halls out of 1,200 were closed after independence.

He also said that the cinema hall owners were constructing multi-storied commercial buildings on the cinema hall lands for more profit.

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