RANGPUR, Oct 20, 2023 (BSS) - The Sanaton community today began five-day celebrations of their greatest religious festival of Durga Puja with 'Bodhan' at around 5,500 Puja mandaps in Rangpur division amid huge festivity and cheerfulness. 
 
Wearing colorful dresses, the Sanaton devotees of all ages started thronging Puja mandaps this morning to have a glance at goddess Durga and seek her blessings for the welfare of them and humanity as a whole.
 
The district administrations, law enforcement agencies and local Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (BPUP) units have taken plenty of steps to ensure peaceful celebrations of Durga Puja in all eight districts of Rangpur division. 
 
Local leaders of BPUP said the five-day celebrations will end on October 24 next with the 'Bijoya Dashami' parade and immersion of the idols of goddess Durga in water bodies. 
 
The district police administrations have taken special measures and engaged adequate numbers of police forces alongside deployment of RAB, Highway Police, Ansar-VDP and community police to ensure peaceful celebrations of Durga Puja.
 
Local Members of Parliament, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, Upazila Nirbahi Officers, politicians, leaders of socio-cultural organisations and BPUPs are visiting Puja mandaps and extending cooperation to the Sanaton community people. 
 
Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md. Moniruzzaman said the Sanaton community started celebrations of Durga Puja today amid huge enthusiasm at all 157 mandaps erected at different places under all six police stations of the metropolis.
 
Rangpur district administration officials said celebrations of Durga Puja festival began today at 944 Durga Puja mandaps in all eight upazilas, including 157 in Rangpur metropolis, in the district.
 
Additional Superintendent of Police (DSB) of Rangpur Md. Ifte Khayer Alam said sufficient security measures have been taken to ensure peaceful celebrations of Durga Puja at all 787 Puja mandaps erected in all eight upazilas across the district.
 
President of Rangpur metropolitan unit of BPUP Haradhan Roy Hara said the Sanaton community today began celebrations of Durga Puja amid huge enthusiasm at all Puja mandaps erected in the metropolis as elsewhere across the district.
 
Talking to this reporter at different Puja mandaps in the metropolis today, Sanaton devotees Sukumar Roy, Dipali Rani and Monika Rani Sarker expressed satisfaction over the security steps taken for peaceful celebration of Durga Puja.
 
"We are offering prayers, Puja, archana, kirtons and other religious rituals peacefully amid huge enthusiasm and cheerfulness," said another devotee Nikhil Chandra.
 
General Secretary of Rangpur metropolitan unit of BPUP Advocate Prashant Kumar Roy thanked the government, local administrations and law enforcement agencies for taking ample steps to ensure peaceful celebrations of the Durga Puja in every Puja mandap. 
 
Divisional Commissioner Md. Habibur Rahman said the district and police administrations and different law enforcement agencies are working round the clock to ensure peaceful celebrations of the five-day Durga Puja festival in Rangpur division. 
 
Similarly, the Sanaton community started celebration of the five-day Durga Puja festival amid huge enthusiasm and religious gaiety today in Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts of the division.