Sharadiya Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Bangladesh’s Hindu community, begins today, Friday, with Maha Shashthi. Worship of the main idols begins today. Until Bijoya Dashami next Wednesday, the puja mandaps will resound with the beats of drums and the clang of traditional cymbals over the six-day festival.
The rituals marking the beginning of the day, along with the Shashthi puja, was performed by 9:57 am today. In the evening, the goddess will be formally invited as the rituals of amantran and adhivas will be observed.
This year, Goddess Durga will arrive on horseback and depart by boat. According to Hindu scriptures, the goddess visits her parental home on Earth today, leaving her husband’s home on Mount Kailash.
The gods were once driven from heaven after being defeated by demonic forces. To destroy this evil power, the gods united, and the emergence of a supreme divine force became necessary. Goddess Durga, the destroyer of evil, emerged from the radiance of the gods.
Ahead of Durga Puja, leaders of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad and the Mahanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee held a meeting with journalists on Thursday at the fairground of Dhakeshwari National Temple in the capital.
They said 33,851 Durga Puja celebrations would be held across the country this year, up from 32,351 last year. In Dhaka city, 258 pujas are being organised this year, compared with 261 last year.
This year, Maha Saptami will be observed over two days—Saturday and Sunday. Maha Ashtami falls on Monday, Mahanabami on Tuesday, and Bijoya Dashami and the immersion of the idols on Wednesday. Processions will take place across the country, including in Dhaka, at 3:00 pm on Bijoya Dashami.
Final preparations underway at puja mandaps
During a visit on Thursday, preparations for Durga Puja were seen nearing completion at mandaps across the capital. At Ramna Kali Mandir, the idols had been installed but remained covered with plastic sheets. Decorative lighting had been set up across the temple grounds, along with a gate and a stage.
At Dhakeshwari National Temple, the idols had also been installed in the mandap and covered with white curtains. Final preparations were still underway at the time of the visit around noon.
‘Attacks on idols and temples reported in several districts’
At the meeting with journalists at Dhakeshwari Temple, Mahanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee general secretary Shubhashish Kumar Biswas said in a written statement that attacks on idols and temples during preparations for Durga Puja had been reported in Sylhet, Rajbari, Panchagarh, Netrokona and Tangail.
He added that a historic Kali temple in Faridpur had been burgled. In Sunamganj, homes, shops and temples belonging to members of the Hindu community had been attacked and looted.
There were also reports of a robbery in Naogaon by individuals posing as intelligence agency employees, although law enforcement agencies had responded swiftly and many of the suspects had been arrested.
Shubhashish Kumar Biswas said he did not want to see such attacks during Sharadiya Durga Puja.
BGB, Ansar and VDP deployed
BGB personnel were seen stationed at Dhakeshwari National Temple on Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel Md Mahbub Murshed Rahman, director of operations at BGB headquarters, told the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) that around 10,000 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel would be deployed for Durga Puja this year.
BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said on Thursday that the force was prepared to take the necessary measures to deal with any untoward situation.
Meanwhile, at a press conference at Ansar and VDP headquarters on Thursday, the force’s director general, Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud, said 212,818 members of the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) had been deployed across the country to help ensure peaceful Durga Puja celebrations.