Ekushey Award winner poet Asim Saha has passed away.
He breathed his last after cardiac arrest at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on Tuesday (June 18) afternoon.
Director General of Bangla Academy Poet Muhammad Nurul Huda confirmed the matter.
He said that after being ill for a long time, Asim Saha was fairly healthy. I met him a few days ago. I heard today that he is no more. Currently, Asim Saha is kept in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital. I am going there to see him.
Huda also said that without talking to the family, the last rites of poet Asim Saha will be informed later.
Poet Asim Saha was seriously ill and admitted to the hospital earlier this year. The doctors then informed that the poet is suffering from depression. Apart from this, he also suffered from Parkinson's disease, constipation and diabetes.
Poet Asim Saha was born on February 20, 1949 at maternal grandfather’s house in Netrakona district. He studied in the Department of Bengali Literature of Dhaka University. He received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2012 for his overall contribution to literature. He was later awarded Ekushey Padak, the country's second highest civilian honor, by the Government of Bangladesh in 2019 for his contribution to Bengali language and literature.