Durga Puja to be celebrated in 33,355 mandaps, temples nationwide

Durga Puja will be celebrated in 33,355 mandaps and temples across the country this year while the number was 31,461 last year.

Accordingly, the number of mandaps has increased by 1,894 this year.

These details were disclosed on Friday afternoon, at a press conference organised by the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council and the Sarbojonin (Universal) Puja Committee.

At the press conference held at the Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka city, a written statement was read out by the President of the Metropolitan Sarbojonin Puja Committee, Jayanta Kumar Deb.

According to the written statement, this year, 259 Pujas will be held in Dhaka metropolitan area. Last year, 252 mandaps and temples hosted Puja celebrations in Dhaka.

Presenting the schedule of the Puja, the written statement mentioned that Saturday marks the incarnation of the Durga Puja.

Sunday will be Maha Shashthi. Monday will be Maha Saptami, Tuesday Maha Ashtami, Wednesday Maha Nabami and Thursday Bijoya Dashami.

On that day, at 3:00pm, Bijoya processions will be brought out across the country, including Dhaka. This year, the arrival of the Goddess is by elephant, and her departure by palanquin.

Regarding the law-and-order situation, it was mentioned in the written statement that meetings had already been held with the Home Affairs Adviser and the Religious Affairs Adviser.

Various aspects of organising the Puja were discussed at the meetings.

Both advisers assured that the Puja celebrations would be held smoothly. They stated that measures would be taken to address adverse situations.

The written statement also mentioned that amid preparations for the Durga Puja, incidents of attacks on Durga idols and temples had occurred in 13 districts.

The districts are Kushtia, Chattogram, Kurigram, Satkhira, Jhenaidah, Netrokona, Gaibandha, Panchagarh, Jamalpur, Natore, Gazipur, Manikganj, and Chapainawabganj.

However, Jayanta Kumar Deb stated that the law enforcement agencies had promptly taken action in these incidents, with many of the miscreants apprehended. He said they did not wish to see such attacks during the Puja celebrations.

The written statement further emphasised that not only law enforcement measures but also the enlightened spirit of the state and social resistance must bring an end to such violence. Security should not be considered only for the five days of Puja; if a non-discriminatory Bangladesh is to be built, security for 365 days must be ensured.

To safeguard the interests and existence of religious and ethnic minorities, the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council and the Sarbojonin Puja Committee placed eight demands.

These include the enactment of a Minority Protection Act; the establishment of a National Minority Commission and a Ministry for Minorities and the declaration of three public holidays during Durga Puja—from Ashtami to Dashami—one day during the Buddhist community’s Parvarana Purnima, and one day during the Christian community’s Easter Sunday.

A total of 22 directives were issued for Puja mandaps across the country. Among these were involving the local administration, all political parties, the army, law enforcement agencies and student leaders in the organisation and celebration of Puja; ensuring immersion of idols on 2 October within the scheduled evening time; refraining from the use of loud microphones, PA sets, fireworks, or crackers; avoiding being misled by rumours and reporting any incidents immediately to the concerned law enforcement agencies as well as to the central monitoring cell, and if necessary, contacting 999.

At the press conference, speeches were delivered by the President of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, Basudeb Dhar and adviser and lawyer, Subrata Chowdhury.