Students of Sreemangal have been encouraged to develop regular reading habits as part of the ongoing Sreemangal Book Reading Festival 2026.

Moulvibazar-4 lawmaker Alhaj Md. Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury attended book-reading motivation gatherings as the chief guest at Victoria High School and Monai Ullah Adarsha High School in Sreemangal on Monday.

Sreemangal Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Administrator of Sreemangal Municipality Md. Ziaur Rahman presided over the programmes.

Addressing the gatherings, MP Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury said books play an important role in shaping people's minds and outlook. He urged students to develop the habit of reading regularly alongside their academic studies.

“If children are encouraged to read different types of books, including stories, novels, science, history and travel literature, they will grow up with healthy, positive and enriched minds,” he said.

To further encourage students, the MP announced that he would personally donate eight laptops to the best readers in the eight categories of the Sreemangal Book Reading Festival 2026. The categories are Classes VI, VII, VIII, IX and X; Classes XI-XII; undergraduate, graduate, degree and equivalent levels; and the open category.

In his presidential speech, UNO and municipality administrator Md. Ziaur Rahman said the reading movement would help young students discover the vast world through books.

“A book may not completely change a person in a single day, but the habit of reading can become an invaluable asset for their future,” he said, adding that today's reading habit would enrich students' thinking, knowledge and intellect in the days ahead.

The first phase, titled ‘Mukul’, of the three-phase Sreemangal Book Reading Festival 2026 has already been completed. Around 25,000 students from 38 educational institutions in Sreemangal took part in the first phase, of whom 1,957 students were selected for the second phase, ‘Phul’.

In the second phase,the selected students are reading 14 additional books. Assessments based on these books will be held at the educational institution level on September 2 and 3. Through the assessments, the top three students from each class of every participating institution will be selected to compete in the final phase, ‘Phol’, at the upazila level.

The festival has already generated considerable enthusiasm among students, parents, teachers and general readers across Sreemangal.

A visit to several local libraries found that demand for the books selected for the festival has increased sharply. Many libraries have had to replenish their stocks two or three times but are still struggling to keep the books available. They are making fresh efforts to collect and supply books to meet readers' demand.

The growing interest in collecting and reading books is being seen as a positive and significant addition to Sreemangal's reading culture.

The festival is being organised by the Sreemangal Upazila Administration, with Sreemangal Abritti Utsab as the coordinating partner and Uttaran Pathagar as the reading support partner.

The festival carries the message: “Read books,shape the mind-let the pages of books build a knowledgeable and enlightened generation for tomorrow.”