2020 in Bangladesh

The year 2020 was the 49th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It is also the second year of the fourth term of the government of Sheikh Hasina. This year the entire country celebrated the 100th birthday of its Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The period between 17 March 2020 and 17 March 2021 was announced as the 'Mujib Borsho ' or the year of Mujib. However, like rest of the world Bangladesh was also severely impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.

Economy

Note: For the year 2020 average official exchange rate for BDT was 84.87 per US$.

Events

January

27 January - Supporters of the political parties Bangladesh Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party clash during the Dhaka South City Corporation election campaign in the Gopibagh yesterday area. At least 15 people injured.
29 January - Algeria reopens its embassy in Dhaka, after closing it in 1990.

February

9 February - Bangladesh wins the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup by defeating the defending champions India in the final.
11 February - Fifteen Rohingya refugees died, and another 72 were rescued, when a trawler bound for Malaysia sank off of St. Martin's Island in the Bay of Bengal, leading to police to file charges against 19 alleged brokers.

March

8 March - The first three cases of COVID-19 are reported in the country beginning the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh.
17 March - The 100th birth anniversary of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is celebrated throughout the country.

April

18 April - Hundreds of garment workers march in Chittagong, Bangladesh, demanding factory owners pay them last month's wages following delays.
20 April - The country's first Blockchain Olympiad Bangladesh is organised.
27 April - Over 500 garment factories in Dhaka and Chittagong re-opened, after being shut down for a month to stop the spread of coronavirus.

May

5 May - Eleven people, including cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed, were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion after posting criticisms of the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
20 May - Cyclone Amphan hits Bangladesh's coastal areas. The cyclone killed dozens and destroyed many homes.
27 May - A fire at a hospital kills five patients being treated for COVID-19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. No cause for the fire has been determined.

June

29 June - At least 34 people die when MV Morning Bird launch collides with another vessel and sinks in the Buriganga River in capital Dhaka.

August

10 August - The assassination of retired army officer Major Sinha Md Rashed Khan by some disgraced members of the police force caused tensions between the Bangladesh Army and the Bangladesh Police which was cooled off by assurance from the government that justice will prevail. OC Pradeep, Inspector Liakat, and SI Nanda Dulal the three policemen involved were all arrested by the elite RAB. The mastermind OC Pradeep had also been found linked to numerous corruption scandals and accumulation of illegal wealth through extortion.
15 August - Two lighter vessels capsize in the Bay of Bengal, near the island of Bhasan Char in Bangladesh. The country's Inland Water Transport Authority report that 13 crew members from one vessel en route to the Narayanganj District from Chittagong are missing, while all 12 crew members from the other vessel were rescued.

September

6 September - Twenty-four people died after a leak in a gas pipeline caused an explosion in a mosque in Narayanganj district. Several others were injured.
19 September - The border guards of Bangladesh and India agree to launch joint patrols along the two countries' border following a spate of deaths linked to illegal entries.

October

15 October - A court in Bangladesh sentences five men to death for the gang rape of a girl in 2012. The verdict comes amidst public outcry regarding growing sexual violence. It was the first conviction since the government this week introduced the death penalty for rape.
20 October - The reactor of the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was transferred to Bangladesh from Russia, initiating the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which is expected to be in operation by 2023.

December

4 December - Despite international pressure to back down, Bangladesh begins transferring thousands of Rohingya refugees to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh says all the refugees being moved have given consent and that the relocation was voluntary.
8 December and 9 December - For two days traders clashed with the police when Dhaka South City Corporation began demolition of hundreds of unauthorized shops of a market in Gulistan's Fulbaria area. Traders demanded compensation. The eviction drive that begun on 8 December continued for a second consecutive day on 9 December with continued clashes.

Awards and recognitions

Independence Day Award

Total 9 persons and 1 organisation were awarded.

Recipients	Area	Note
Golam Dastagir Gazi	independence and liberation war
Azizur Rahman	independence and liberation war
Commander Abdur Rauf	independence and liberation war	posthumous
Anwar Pasha	independence and liberation war	posthumous
Kalipada Das	culture
Ferdousi Mazumder	culture
Professor Dr Md Obaidul Kabir Chowdhury	medical science
AKMA Muqtadir	medical science
Bharateswari Homes	education

Ekushey Padak

Ekushey Padak was awarded to 20 people and 1 organisation.

Aminul Islam Badsha, language movement
Begum Dalia Nausheen, music
Shankar Roy, music
Mita Haque, music
Golam Mostafa Khan, dance
SM Mohsin, acting
Farida Zaman, art
Haji Aktar Sardar, liberation war
AAM Mesbahul Haque, liberation war
Abdul Jabbar, liberation war
Zafar Wazed, journalism
Jahangir Alam Khan, research
Syed Mohammad Saifur Rahman, research
Bikiran Prasad Barua, education
Shamsul Alam, economics
Sufi Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, social welfare
Nuran Nabi, language and literature
Sikder Aminul Haq, language and literature
Nazmun Nesa Peyari, language and literature
Sayeba Akhter, medicine
Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, research

Deaths