Top editors gather in Chittagong to celebrate Dainik Azadi's 57th anniversary

Top editors of Bangladesh have gathered in the port city to celebrate the 57th founding anniversary of Chittagong-based daily, Dainik Azadi.

An event will be held at Radisson Blu hotel on Saturday evening.

The editors of the leading English and Bangla dailies arrived in Chittagong in the morning to attend the celebrations.

Dainik Azadi Managing Editor Wahid Malek, Associate Editor Rashed Rouf, Chief Reporter Hasan Akbar, and Manager Moinul Alam Badal welcomed them to the office of the daily at Momin Road.

Azadi Editor MA Malek handed them copies of 'Hajar Bochhorer Chattagram', a book on Chittagong's history and tradition.

The editors then visited the departments of the Azadi office and its printing press.

Responding to a query from one of the guests, bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi, Malek said the online version of his newspaper has 560,000 unique visitors daily.

"The people from Chittagong living in different countries in the Middle East, the US, the UK or wherever they live read Azadi at least once daily," he said.

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha Editor-in-Chief Abdul Kalam Azad, News Today Editor Riaz Uddin Ahmed, Prothom Alo Editor Motiur Rahman, Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, Amader Orthoneeti Editor Nayeemul Islam Khan, Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shyamal Dutta, Kaler Kantho Editor Imdadul Haque

Milon, Bangladesh Television's Mahmudur Rahman and media researcher Muhammad Jahangir visited the offices.

Wahid Malek said Dainik Azadi was the first newspaper to be published in independent Bangladesh on Dec 17, 1971.

"It's part of history. Today the maximum number of editors of Bangladesh have gathered for Azadi's anniversary celebrations. It also is history," he said.

Chittagong's oldest daily, Dainik Azadi, was launched on Sep 5, 1960.

Besides the invited editors, top politicians and businessmen of Chittagong will join the anniversary gala later in the evening.

Azadi had organised gatherings of writers and readers, Family Day and several other programmes in past few days as part of the festivities.