Coronavirus volunteers to bury National Professor Anisuzzaman at Azimpur Graveyard

National Professor Anisuzzaman will be laid to rest at Azimpur Graveyard in Dhaka on Friday morning.

Volunteers of Al-Markazul Islami, an organisation that has been performing funeral rituals for the patients who die from COVID-19, will conduct his last rites.

The Prime Minister’s Office initiated the plan, his son Ananda Zaman told bdnews24.com hours after confirming on Thursday night that tests confirmed Prof Anisuzzaman had COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, most of us cannot attend [the funeral], as he tested positive for COVID-19,” Ananda said.

The guidelines for the burial of COVID-19 patients will also be followed throughout Anisuzzaman's burial, he added.

“Whether you can attend or not, please pray for him, maybe from a distance,” Ananda said.

According to the PMO plans, a Markazul team will be at the Combined Military Hospital at 9am on Friday.

They will go to the graveyard after performing all the rituals at the hospital, Ananda said.

The professor will be buried at 10am following other rituals.

Prof Anisuzzaman will also be given a guard of honour, according to the son.

Ghulam Quddus, the president of the Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, the central platform of cultural organisations, said they abandoned plans to pay respects to Prof Anisuzzaman by placing wreaths on his coffin.

The 83-year-old national professor breathed his last at the hospital on Thursday afternoon.

কেন্দ্রীয় শহীদ মিনারে শনিবার সম্মিলিত সাংস্কৃতিক জোট আয়োজিত বিক্ষোভ সমাবেশে অধ্যাপক আনিসুজ্জামান। ছবি: আসাদুজ্জামান প্রামানিক/ বিডিনিউজ টোয়েন্টিফোর ডটকম

Aside from a combination of heart, kidney and lung ailments, Prof Anisuzzaman was also suffering from Parkinson's disease and prostate complications.

The doctors also collected samples from him before and after his death as he had fever, one of the COVID-19 symptoms. The test result came out positive.

Having taught Bengali literature at Dhaka University and Chittagong University, he was a professor emeritus at the University of Dhaka. He authored many books in Bangla and English.

Born in 1937 in Kolkata, Prof Anisuzzaman was a recipient of the Bangla Academy award for research (1970) and the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, for his contribution to education in 1983.

Anisuzzaman was a member of the Bangladesh government's Planning Commission during the Liberation War and later, the president of the Bangla Academy.