On Durga Puja’s ninth day, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has visited Chattogram’s JM Sen Hall pandal, where organisers hailed him as the “first prime minister” to attend the festival celebrations there.
Tarique reached the historic Puja ground at 8:20pm on Tuesday after visiting two Puja venues in Rangpur and Rajshahi earlier on Tuesday amid Maha Nabami celebrations.
He was welcomed by Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad Chattogram Metropolitan President Prof Arpan Banerjee, General Secretary Advocate Nikhil Kumar Nath, Janmashtami Udjapan Parishad Executive Secretary Biplab De Partha, and Hindu Religious Welfare Trust trustee Rajib Dhar Tamal.
The Chattogram metropolitan branch of the Puja Udjapan Parishad has organised Durga Puja at JM Sen Hall for the past 40 years.
Its leaders said this was the first time a prime minister had visited the venue.
The arrival brought added excitement to the celebrations, with people lining both sides of the road and welcoming Tarique with ululation.
Located at Rahmatganj, the historic Jatri Mohan Sen Gupta Hall, commonly known as JM Sen Hall, is one of Chattogram’s principal centres for Durga Puja.
Its annual celebrations combine religious rituals with cultural events, drawing people from different walks of life.
Jatindra Mohan Sengupta established the hall in 1920 in memory of his father, Jatri Mohan Sengupta.
The site is historically linked to the anti-British movement, political struggles and progressive cultural activities.
As part of his Durga Puja visits to three cities, Tarique travelled from Dhaka to Rangpur in the morning and visited the Radha Gobinda Dharmasabha temple’s Puja pandal.
He then flew to Rajshahi, attended a rally at Haji Muhammad Mohsin Government High School ground and visited another Puja venue.
After the Chattogram visit, he was scheduled to stop at Chattogram Circuit House before flying back to Dhaka.