Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will travel to Chattogram on Tuesday and visit the Durga Puja pavilion at JM Sen Hall to mark the biggest festival for the Bangladeshi Hindu community.
On the Mahanavami (ninth day) of Durga Puja, he will inspect the pavilion organised by the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (Bangladesh Puja Organising Committee) in the Rahmatganj area of the Chattogram Metropolitan Municipality that afternoon.
Advocate Nikhil Kumar Nath, general secretary of the Chattogram Metropolitan unit of the committee, said: “On Tuesday afternoon, the prime minister will visit our puja pavilion at the JM Sen Hall premises. He will participate in a discussion. In all, he may be here for about an hour.
“The mayor of Chattogram, members of the Chattogram district administration, police, law-enforcing and intelligence agencies, and a number of organisations, including the city unit of the BNP, have started working together to prepare for the prime minister’s visit.”
Stating that everyone is cooperating, he said, “I hope we can complete the arrangements beautifully.
“No head of government has ever visited the Durga Puja event at JM Sen Hall before. This is the first time that a prime minister is coming to visit the puja. We are very happy about this. We are eagerly waiting to welcome him.”
Meanwhile, Chattogram Mayor Shahadat Hossain visited JM Sen Hall on Friday afternoon to inspect the location ahead of the premier’s arrival.
He observed the overall preparations and management of the venue and spoke with the leaders of the event committee.
Emphasising the necessary preparations surrounding Tarique’s visit and the completion of related activities, Shahadat said: "A coordinated initiative and responsible action by all concerned is necessary to make such an important programme a success."
The Chattogram town hall, built in 1919, is known as JM Sen Hall to honour Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, one of the leaders of the anti-British Raj movement.
In the century since it was built, it has stood witness to the anti-British Non-Cooperation Movement, the Assam-Bengal Railway Movement, the Tea Workers' Mulluk Cholo Movement, the Chittagong Youth Rebellion, the Language Movement and the Liberation War.
In addition to a number of events for Hindu festivals, including Durga Puja, a variety of socio-cultural and political programmes are hosted on the premises every year.