A concert featuring several popular bands has been suspended in Kishoreganj after administrative concerns and objections were raised over the planned event. The concert was scheduled to take place at the town’s Old Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Kishoreganj Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Ishtiaq Emon told our representative that the event was being organised by a local restaurant named Alishan. According to him, the organisers had been called to discuss the arrangements, but the administration found that the establishment had neither applied for registration under the relevant hotel registration law nor obtained the required licence.
The administration subsequently informed the organisers that the requested permissions could not be granted because the establishment did not have the necessary registration and licensing status. Officials said administrative approval could not be provided for an event organised by an unregistered establishment.
The decision came after a local religious organisation also raised objections to the concert. On Tuesday, the Kishoreganj Sadar branch of the Imam-Ulama Parishad submitted a memorandum to the district administration demanding that the concert be cancelled.
The memorandum, signed by the organisation’s president, Maulana Ahmadullah, called for the cancellation of the proposed event at the Old Stadium. Copies were also submitted to the superintendent of police, the Sadar upazila executive officer and the officer-in-charge of the local police station.
Kishoreganj Sadar police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Abul Kalam Bhuiyan told our representative that the district administration would communicate the decision regarding the concert.
Several bands were scheduled to perform
The concert was expected to feature Ashes, Nobelman and several other bands. The suspension was also announced by Ashes through its social media page on Wednesday morning.
In its message to fans in Kishoreganj, the band said the concert at the Old Stadium had been suspended by the administration because of certain unforeseen circumstances. It also expressed hope that the band would be able to meet its Kishoreganj audience again in the future.
The concert had attracted attention among local music enthusiasts, but the event could not proceed after the administrative issues emerged. The dispute has centred primarily on the organisers’ registration and licensing status, alongside objections raised by the local religious organisation.
Protest programme also called off
The Imam-Ulama Parishad had announced a protest rally and procession in Kishoreganj town for Wednesday afternoon, demanding that the concert be stopped. Following the administration’s decision to suspend the event, however, the organisation cancelled its planned protest programme.
Maulana Ahmadullah, president of the organisation’s Kishoreganj Sadar upazila branch, confirmed the decision to our representative.
The suspension means that the scheduled performances will not take place at the Old Stadium for now. No decision has been announced on whether the organisers will seek the necessary registration and permissions and attempt to arrange the concert at a later date.
