Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) will organise a week-long festival from 31 July to 7 August to mark the capital’s 416th anniversary and observe 1 August as ‘Dhaka Day’, with programmes highlighting the city’s history, heritage, culture and environmental awareness.
The ‘Heart of Dhaka’ festival will feature heritage rallies, a marathon, cultural programmes, a boat race and city branding initiatives aimed at promoting Dhaka’s identity globally, DSCC Administrator freedom fighter Md Abdus Salam said in a press release.
The festival’s theme, “Heart of Dhaka”, is designed as more than a cultural event, with DSCC describing it as a long-term civic movement to revive the city’s heritage and build a clean and green capital.
The week-long activities will begin on 31 July with a ‘Dhaka Heritage Cycle Rally’ in the morning and a traditional ‘Dhaka Procession’ in the afternoon featuring elephants, horse-drawn carriages and palanquins.
On 1 August, marking Dhaka Day, a ‘Dhaka Heritage Marathon’ will be held in the morning. The festival will be formally inaugurated at 4:00pm at Lalbagh Fort, where Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to attend. A cleanliness drive, mosquito control programme and tree plantation campaign under the ‘Clean City, Green City’ initiative will also begin on the day.
The following day, Lalbagh Fort will host a kite festival, a special ‘Dhaka Adda’ and an evening cultural programme featuring traditional Qawwali.
A traditional boat race will be organised on the Buriganga River on 3 August from Kholamora Ghat to Wise Ghat.
Throughout the week, Madhumita Cinema Hall will screen old films based on Dhaka, while Bangladesh Television will air special dramas and programmes. Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy will host theatre performances, art camps and painting competitions.
The festival will also include ‘The Great Dhaka Sale’ at shopping centres across the capital and special heritage cruise trips on traditional boats from Sadarghat.
In the press release, DSCC Administrator Md Abdus Salam said Dhaka began its journey as the capital of Subah Bengal in 1610, while the establishment of Dhaka Municipality on 1 August 1864 marked the beginning of modern urban administration.
“Through the evolution of time, it has become what is now the Dhaka South City Corporation. Therefore, we have decided to observe 1 August as ‘Dhaka Day’,” he said.
He added that Dhaka has witnessed major chapters of Bangladesh’s history, including the Language Movement, the Liberation War, the mass uprising of the 1990s and the 2024 student-people’s uprising.
“Carrying forward that legacy, our goal is to build a clean, green and modern capital,” he said.
Addressing possible weather disruptions, the DSCC administrator said the festival would take place as scheduled if weather conditions improve. However, the programme schedule may be changed with the approval of the prime minister if the situation deteriorates.
DSCC called on citizens, cultural organisations, media outlets and domestic and international tourists to participate in the event as part of efforts to build a clean, green, smart and citizen-friendly Dhaka.
