Sreemangal Book Festival:8 Students Win Laptops

The closing ceremony and award distribution of the three-month-long Book Reading Festival 2026, organised by the Sreemangal Upazila Administration in Moulvibazar,was held on Saturday morning,October 10, under the slogan “Read Books, Build Minds.” Eight students who secured first place in eight different categories received laptops as prizes.

The event was held at the Sreemangal District Council Auditorium, where the festival results were announced and prizes were handed over to the winners.

Moulvibazar-4 (Sreemangal-Kamalganj) constituency Member of Parliament Alhaj Md. Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury attended the programme as the chief guest. Moulvibazar Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Touhiduzzaman Pavel chaired the event, while Sreemangal Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Ziaur Rahman delivered the welcome address.

Teachers, students, parents, political leaders, government officials, representatives of various professions and general readers attended the ceremony.

According to the Upazila Administration, the festival began on July 21 with the aim of developing a regular reading habit among students, encouraging intellectual curiosity and nurturing a creative and thoughtful generation. The initiative sought to engage approximately 25,000 students from 38 educational institutions across the upazila. Teachers, parents and general readers were also given opportunities to participate.

The festival was conducted in three phases, with participants encouraged to read a selection of books. The final assessment examination was held on September 19, with 760 participants, including students and general readers, according to sources associated with the organisers.

Addressing the ceremony, Chief Guest and Member of Parliament Md. Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury said books were true friends of human beings. Reading, he noted, helps develop knowledge, critical thinking and intellectual abilities.

He added that initiatives like this could play an important role in reducing students' excessive dependence on mobile phones and encouraging them to develop a greater interest in reading.

Chairing the event,Deputy Commissioner Touhiduzzaman Pavel said the greatest achievement of the festival was not winning a laptop or any other prize, but developing knowledge and thinking skills through reading.

He described young people as the builders of the country's future and stressed the importance of cultivating reading habits to promote their intellectual and creative development.

He also emphasised that young people should develop a close relationship with books while making positive use of technology. He expressed hope that regular reading would help students gain knowledge and contribute to society and the country.

The eight students who secured first place in their respective categories and received laptops were Fatema Jahan, Rajshree Halder, Adrija Pal, Asaduzzaman Shihab, Umme Kulsum Mim, Tasnuva Suha, Umme Nafisa Maimunah and Fatema Sultana.

In addition,nine students in each category received special certificates,crests and books.

Rajshree Halder, a Class Seven student at The Buds Residential Model School and College, said she was delighted to receive a laptop. However, she considered the knowledge gained through reading to be her greatest achievement.

She said that although she previously spent considerable time on her mobile phone, she was now learning new things by reading books. Among the selected titles, Jibrailer Dana and Around the World in Eighty Days had given her particularly enjoyable reading experiences.

Tasnuva Suha, a laptop winner in the higher secondary category and a student of Sreemangal Government College, said she had the opportunity to read three distinctive books across the festival's three phases.

She said she enjoyed reading the books and planned to use her laptop for academic purposes, online classes and other educational activities.

One of the notable features of the festival was the participation of people from different age groups and professional backgrounds. Alongside students, teachers, lecturers, heads of educational institutions, government officials, bankers, journalists, pharmacists, electricians, homemakers and general readers joined the initiative.

Participants included teachers Ahmmed Ali Rubel, Hafsa Khatun, Nur Mohammad (Mushfiq), Ruma Akter, Gouri Rani Shil, Tamvir Hossain Farhad, Kazi Shawkat Hossain, Mithu Chandra Pal, Minarul Islam, Kakoli Purokayastha, Tama Das, Badshah Faisal, Nishan Chowdhury, Sumon, Shuvo Roy, Habibur Rahman and Zahirul Islam Mithu.

Government officials Md. Nazmul Alam, Ujjal Sutradhar and Raju Biswas; banker Shaheen Siraji; pharmacist Kankan Purokayastha; electrician Sohanur Rahman Roni; students Urmi Akter and Samiran Sarkar; homemakers Ratna Chakraborty and Farhana Afroze; journalist Satyajit Das; Shimul Tarafdar of Prothom Alo; and Jolly Pal, principal of Dwarika Paul Women's Degree College, were also among the participants.

Each participant in the open category received a book and a certificate of recognition.

Debashish Das,who was associated with organising the festival, praised the students for their book reviews.

He said the quality of the reviews submitted during the final phase reflected the students' thinking abilities,creativity and imagination.

According to him,although many students reviewed the same books,their writing demonstrated individual perspectives and personal interpretations.

He also said there were plans to prepare separate wall magazines featuring the best book reviews from different class levels, allowing students and other reading enthusiasts to explore their work.

Debashish Das expressed gratitude to the heads of educational institutions,focal persons,teachers and parents who helped make the festival successful. He also congratulated the participating students, emphasising that the credit for their achievements belonged to them.

At the closing ceremony, UNO Md. Ziaur Rahman and other officials expressed hope that the initiative would encourage students and general readers to read regularly.

They noted that combining the positive use of technology with a strong reading habit could help nurture a knowledgeable, creative and compassionate generation in Sreemangal.

The organisers expressed optimism that the reading habits developed through the festival would continue beyond the programme and inspire people of all ages to pursue knowledge and intellectual growth.