Sat Jan 11 05:28:34 UTC 2025: ## Bangladesh Skips India Meteorological Department’s 150th Anniversary
**DHAKA, January 11, 2025** – Bangladesh will not be attending the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) due to government restrictions on non-essential foreign travel funded by the government. While the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) confirmed receiving the invitation and maintains a strong collaborative relationship with the IMD, budgetary constraints have prevented their attendance.
The IMD, founded in 1875, is celebrating its sesquicentennial on January 15th. The event has invited several neighboring countries, including Pakistan (which has accepted), Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and others from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The IMD specifically invited countries that were part of India at the time of its founding.
Despite Bangladesh’s absence, the BMD acting director, Mominul Islam, emphasized the ongoing cooperation between the two agencies, highlighting his recent visit to India in December 2024 for a separate meteorological meeting. The IMD’s invitation aimed to commemorate the department’s crucial role in weather forecasting and disaster management, established in response to devastating cyclones and monsoon-related disasters in the 19th century. The department’s headquarters have moved several times, from Kolkata to Shimla, Pune, and finally Delhi.
First Piper 