The three-day Lalon Smaran Utshab (Lalon Memorial Festival) will begin at the shrine of Lalon Shah at Chheuria in Kushtia today.

Introduced by Lalon himself, the festival is held every year to celebrate Dol Purnima.

Lalon Academy, a locally elected body to look after the bard’s shrine, is organising the festival with the assistance of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

The organisers have completed all arrangements to ensure an enjoyable festival.

Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League and lawmaker of Kushtia-3 will inaugurate the event.

Zahir Raihan, Deputy Commissioner of Kushtia will preside over the three-day event.

The event features discussions, a musical programme featuring baul songs and a Lalon Mela.

Meanwhile, a large number of bauls and devotees of Lalon have gathered at the shrine to commemorate the creator, promoter and pioneer of a genre of folk songs.

The festival will wrap up on Saturday night.

Additional security measures have been taken to ensure security. Separate teams of police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and plain-clothed Detective Police have been deployed around the venue.