Singer Fakir Alamgir had been suffering from fever for three days. Two days before that he had developed a cough. The physician advised him to take a Covid test and it proved to be positive. Yesterday, Thursday, his health deteriorated and his respiratory problems worsened. He was rushed to a hospital in Green Road. He required ICU treatment which was not available there.
He was taken to another private hospital which had ICU facilities. He is there at present, undergoing treatment in the ICU. His wife Suraiya Alamgir informed Prothom Alo of his condition.
The singer of songs championing the cause of the common people, Fakir Alamgir is now undergoing treatment for coronavirus at the ICU of a private hospital in Gulshan. He developed serious respiratory problems Thursday evening. His family visited various hospitals around the capital city and finally managed to find a vacant ICU bed at around midnight in this hospital.
Fakir Alamgir’s wife Suraiya Alamgir told Prothom Alo that 25 per cent of his lungs had been affected. She said, “He requires 60 litres of oxygen an hour now and is suffering. We are worried. Please pray for him.”
After independence of Bangladesh, Fakir Alamgir was among the pioneers who created the Bangla pop music genre through a fusion of western and local music. Many of his songs through his long career have been popular hits.
His popular song ‘O Sakhina’ was a great hit and its music video created a sensation in 1982 on BTV’s Anandamela show. He sang the song and composed the music too. He is the founder of the cultural group Wrishiz Shilpi Goshti and former head of the Gono Sangeet Shilpi Goshti.
Fakir Alamgir graduated from Dhaka University’s department of mass communication and journalism. Alongside singing, he writes regularly too. He has books on memories of the liberation war, on music for the cause of the masses, on himself and more.
As a member of the Kranti Shilpi Goshti and Gono Shilpi Goshti, he joined the mass uprising in 1969. During the 1971 Liberation War he joined Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. In 1999 the government bestowed the Ekushey Padak upon him for his significant contribution to music.