GAIBANDHA, Oct 21, 2023 (BSS) - The second day of the five-day long Sharadio Durga Puga, the biggest religious

festival of the Hindu community, is being held peacefully in the district
with due festivity, joy and enthusiasm.

Secretary of District Puja Celebration Parishad Sudev Kumar Chowdhury, said
this year a total of 639 puja mandaps have been erected in all the seven
upazilas of the district.

Of the total, some 101 mandaps have been erected in Sadar upazila, 147 in
Sundarganj upazila, 137 in Gobindaganj upazila, 108 in Sadullapur upazila, 62
in Palashbari upazila, 68 in Shaghata upazila, and 16 in Fulchhari upazila of
the district, he also said.

This year Goddess Durga has come to the earth riding on elephant. Her arrival
on earth is welcomed by the devotees with much fanfare, amidst the beats of
dhak (Drum), he added.

The whole district has taken a festive look as the Hindu devotees including
men, women, boys, girls, youths and adolescents attired in colorful dresses
are thronging different puja mandaps to have a look at goddess Durga and
seeking the blessing from Mother Durga.

Besides, hundreds of Muslims and people of other religious faiths are also
visiting the mandaps decorated colorfully and exchanging greetings with their
Hindu friends and neighbors on Durga Puja.

Superintendent of police (SP) Md. Kamal Hossain including other officials
have already visited a number of puja mandaps of the district till Saturday
afternoon.

During their visits, the police officials exchanged views with the committee
of the puja mandaps and asked on duty police and ansar VDP members to
discharge their duties carefully to avoid any untoward incidents.

In reply to a query, the SP said four-tier security measures had been taken
to ensure peaceful celebration of the Durga puja festival.

To celebrate the festival peacefully in the district a large number of law
enforcers including RAB, police and ansar-VDP have been deployed in and
around the puja mandaps and they are also patrolling the roads to maintain
the law and order in the district, the SP concluded.

Talking to BSS, assistant commissioner and also district relief and
rehabilitation officer (Acting) Md. Jewel Miah said the district
administration distributed 319.5 tonnes of rice for the puja mandaps through
district and upazila administration to assist the Hindu community to
celebrate the festival peacefully.