C T Online Desk: Abdul Jabbar’s wrestling will be held on April 25 and mela also held again. Abdul Jabbar, a businessman from Chittagong, introduced ‘Balikhela’ on 12 Baishakh 1317 to unite the youth against the British rule. From then until 2019, the 110th event was held regularly, but due to Corona, the event was postponed in 2020 and 2021. Starting from the day before the ball game, a five-day fair was held at Laldighi field and around two kilometers.
However, the 113th edition of Balikhela and Mela was postponed this year due to ongoing renovation work of Laldighi ground. When the culture lovers of Chittagong reacted angrily to this incident, the mayor of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) became vocal. He took the initiative to organize ball games and fairs. The CCC mayor held a closed-door meeting with members of the ‘Abdul Jabbar Memorial Wrestling Competition and Fair Committee’ at his residence in Bahaddarhat on Saturday (April 18) morning.
After a long meeting, he held a press conference and announced to organize a ball game and fair at 12 noon. At the press conference, Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said that Abdul Jabbar’s ball game will be held on 12 Baishakh (April 25). However, this time the game will be played on the open road in front of the field, not on the Laldighi field. At the same time there will be fairs. Although it was five days ago, this time the fair will be 3 days. The Baishakhi Mela will run from April 24 to April 28.
