"We've postponed the national competition for security fears following threat from militants," Shahabuddin Ahmed, the general secretary of the federation, told The Daily Star Sport.

The national competition, for both men's and women's, was to be held on the Chitra river in Narail on December 12.

"The district organiser, Narail sports association, faxed us a message stating that the deputy commissioner got a threat on his life from militants over recent arrests.

There are fears of violence by militants," he said.

The federation cancelled the women's event last year in Chandpur after a group of fundamentalists gave fatwa against women's competing in swimsuits.

"The local authorities do not have enough means to ensure security to hundreds of spectators standing along the 15km stretch of the river," he added.