Dhaka, March 24 -- President Md Abdul Hamid has emphasised on collective efforts to turn the country into 'Sonar Bangla' as dreamt by Bangabandhu as part of paying everlasting tributes to the martyrs of the 1971 genocide.

"We can pay our eternal respect to every soul, who gave his or her life in 1971 genocide, by turning the country into 'Sonar Bangla' as dreamt by Bangabandhu," he said in a message on Friday on the eve of the Genocide Day, reports BSS.

The president said, "Today is the dreadful 25th March, the Genocide Day. On this day in 1971, Pakistani occupation forces carried out the most brutal killings in the history throughout the country, including Dhaka".

Numerous people from different classes and professions, including stude...