Journalists stage walkout at ministry event as advisor Mahfuj leaves them waiting

Journalists have staged a walkout after waiting nearly two hours for Information Advisor Mahfuj Alam, who has turned up late at a government event to distribute grants for full-length and short films.

The event was scheduled for 3pm on Wednesday, but reporters waited at the venue until 4:45pm before leaving in frustration.

Earlier in the morning, the Ministry of Information had invited journalists to cover the ceremony. A revised invitation, issued at 2:20pm, pushed the start time back to 4pm.

Despite this, directors and journalists gathered at the venue from 3pm.

As the delay dragged on, impatience grew among the press and other guests. At 4:15pm, a ministry official informed attendees that the advisor had left his residence, but no updates were given after 4:30pm.

By 4:45pm, reporters from Channel i, News24, Jamuna TV, My TV, along with representatives of several newspapers and online outlets, collectively announced their departure.

Some journalists recalled previous occasions where Mahfuj had arrived late to events.

According to attendees, he eventually arrived at the venue at 5pm, around 15 minutes after the media had left.

The advisor handed over grant cheques to the proposers of 12 selected full-length films and 20 short films before the programme concluded at 6pm.

According to a media statement issued by the ministry, the 12 full-length films each received Tk 1.5 million in the first instalment, totalling Tk 18 million, while the 20 short films each received Tk 600,000 in the first instalment, amounting to Tk 12 million.