DHAKA, Oct 5, 2024 (BSS)- Sharadiya Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the country’s Hindu community, will be celebrated in 257 mandaps in the capital this year.

According to Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (BPUP), the five-day Sharadiya Durgotsab will begin Wednesday with unveiling the face of the deity.

The inaugural day is called ‘Maha Shashthi’ to be featured with various rituals-Kalparambho, Adhibash and Abahon (invocation).

The festival will end with the immersion of the idols of the Goddess Durga on Bijoya Dashami on October 13 (Sunday).

In the capital Dhaka, the major puja mandaps would be erected at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Math and Mission, Banani, Kalabagan, Shakhari Bazar, Shiddeshwari Kali Mandir, Ramna Kali Mandir, Jagannath Hall on Dhaka University campus, Khamar Bari at Farmgate and old part of Dhaka including Shakhari Bazar and Tanti Bazar.  

Preparation for the five-day festival is going on in full swing at temples and makeshift puja mandaps in the capital.

Idol makers and artisans are now passing their busiest time in giving the final touch on idols.
  
Durga puja celebrations also include worship of other major deities of Hinduism such as goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth, prosperity), Saraswati (goddess of knowledge and music), Ganesh (god of good beginnings) and Kartik (god of war), who according to Hindu mythology are offspring of Ma Durga.
 
Puja shopping gained momentum as major markets and malls are now crowded with customers.

On Friday and Saturday, a huge rush of shoppers was seen at the capital's major shopping centers, malls and stores in the capital.
The traditional shops of Old Dhaka's Shankhari Bazaar have also become bustling with shoppers to buy the essentials of puja.

Sales of various items conch shells, idol clothes, bells, pots, earthen lamps, agarbatis or dhup kathi (incense sticks), deities' garlands, crowns, sarees, dhoti, panjabees and other ornaments are going on in full swing ahead of Durga Puja.

Stringent security measures will be taken across the country during the celebration of Durga Puja to avert any untoward situation.

A central police control room will be set up at the Dhakeswari temple premises for monitoring overall security at puja mandaps in the capital.