Abul Hasnat, country's renowned journalist, former vice-president of Chhayanaut, director of Bengal Publications and editor of monthly Kali o Kalam magazine, passed away on Sunday, November 1 at a city hospital. He was 75.

Hasnat was suffering from old-age complications and was taken to Anwar Khan Modern Medical College Hospital in the morning, where he was pronounced dead at 8:05 am. "With a heavy heart, we are informing that our Hasnat sir passed away this morning," Golam Sarwar Farouqui, Manager of Operations at Bengal Boi (the flagship bookshop under the Bengal Foundation), told Dhaka Courier.

His body was then taken to Bengal Shilpalay at Dhanmondi in the capital from 1 to 2 pm. From there, the mortal was taken to Chhayanaut. After that, he was laid to rest at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Mirpur after his Namaz-e-Janaza at the Baytul Aman Jam-e-Masjid after the Asr prayer.

Being a noted journalist, writer and arts commentator - Abul Hasnat had four decades of experience in the newspaper industry. He received the Bangla Academy Fellowship 2013. His distinguished career in the Bengali daily, Sangbad, was followed by the editorship of the literary monthly Kali O Kalam and the arts quarterly Shilpa O Shilpi. Hasnat was associated with many leading cultural organisations and was very much active till his last breath. At the time of his death, he was the President of Nalanda Uchcha Vidyalaya, a school run by Chhayanaut - alongside being a current board member of Chhayanaut executive committee and its former Vice-President. Chhayanaut authorities and board members, including its president Sanjida Khatun, mourned Hasnat's death. He was also one of the trustees of the Bengal Foundation.