Hasina visits cancer-hit author Syed Shamsul Haq, to foot his medical bill

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has visited cancer-afflicted author Syed Shamsul Haq at hospital.

The prime minister spent some time with the writer at United Hospital in Dhaka on Saturday.

Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said Hasina enquired about Syed Haq's health.

The writer got emotional during the conversation, Karim said.

The prime minister promised to foot Syed Haq's hospital bill. He is undergoing chemotherapy now.

The poet's wife Anwara Syed Haq, son Ditio Syed-Haq and other members of the family were present during the visit.

After being diagnosed with lung cancer, the octogenarian went to London for treatment in April but returned on Sep 2 to spend the rest of his life in Bangladesh as doctors there found no hope of recovery.

The writer won the Bangla Academy Award in 1966, Ekushey Padak in 1984 and Bangladesh’s highest civilian honour, Independence Award, in 2000 for his contribution to Bangla literature.

He is always vocal against the fundamentalist stream in Bangladesh. Haq was born on Dec 27, 1935 at Kurhigram.

His literary genius spreads across genres and he is known to wield equal mastery over essays, novel, poetry, and plays.

Some of his best-known plays are considered milestones in the history of theatre in Bangladesh.