Durga Puja, a religious festival of the Hindu community, will begin across the country on Friday with Maha Shasthi.
On the opening day, devotees will perform Bodhan, the ceremonial awakening and invocation of Goddess Durga, marking the formal start of the five-day festivities.
This year, the festival will be celebrated at 33,165 mandaps across the country.
Devotees of all ages are expected to visit the mandaps and offer prayers to Goddess Durga, seeking divine blessings for peace, prosperity and the welfare of the country and its people.
Mahalaya, which marks the beginning of preparations for Durga Puja, was observed across the country on October 9. It is associated with the ceremonial invocation of Goddess Durga and is observed seven days before the festival begins.
The main rituals will continue through Bijoya Dashami on October 21, when devotees bid farewell to the goddess. The festival will conclude with the immersion of idols.
This year, Maha Saptami Puja will be celebrated for two days on October 17 and 18, Maha Ashtami on October 19, Maha Nabamai on October 20.
Adequate security measures have been taken to ensure peaceful celebrations, with members of different law enforcement agencies deployed at puja mandaps across the country.
A total of 212,118 members of the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party have been deployed for security during the festival, with eight members assigned to each high-risk mandap and six to each of the other mandaps.
Besides, 104 striking teams will remain on standby to respond quickly to any untoward incident, said its Director General Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud at a press conference at its headquarters on Thursday.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is also setting up 18 base camps and strengthening patrols to ensure security at around 1,800 puja mandaps located within eight kilometres of the country’s borders during Durga Puja.
BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui disclosed the plan while talking to reporters after inspecting the security arrangements at the Ramna Kali Mandir in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
He said BGB personnel have already visited the mandaps and contacted puja committees in their respective areas to coordinate security measures.
The government has declared a three-day holiday on the occasion of Durga Puja from October 20 to 22.
With October 23 and 24 falling on Friday and Saturday, the regular weekly holidays, there will be a five-day vacation from October 20 to 24.