Members of the Hindus community have celebrated Bijoya Doshomi as well as the five-day Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the community. The celebration ended with immersion of Devi Durga in rivers and water bodies across the country on Monday (October 26).
Members of the Hindus community in colourful attires took to the streets beating drums and chanting mantras on the occasion of the festival. Hindu married women became excited and exchanged cinnabar (sindur) during departure of their Goddess Durga.
The Hindu devotees visited puja mandaps with great excitement. They took part in puja, arati, recitation from scriptures, distribution of proshad, and offering of devotional songs.
In Rajshahi, the-five-day Durga Puja ended with immersion of the images of Goddess Durga in the river Padma. The last day rituals of the festival was celebrated amid much enthusiasm and festivity. ‘Prasad’ and sweets were distributed among the devotees as well as people belonging to other communities, who visited the Puja Mandaps.
This year, the idols were taken to the river Padma, ponds, canals and other water bodies for immersion with special arrangements instead of any colourful procession, dancing and singing `kirton’ due to the novel coronavirus COVID 19 pandemic .
However, thousands of devotees joined the ritual when the idols were being carried to the nearby rivers particularly from all mandaps or makeshift pavilions for immersion.
The officials, politicians and leaders of different socio-cultural organizations including Fazle Hossain Badsha, MP, and Zila Parishad Chairman Muhammad Ali Sarker visited different puja mandaps.
The festival was celebrated in 3,419 puja mandaps in all eight districts under Rajshahi division including 87 in Rajshahi city.
In Gopalganj, people of Hindu Community celebrated the festival on a limited scale this year, considering the global Corona situation, reports our Gopalganj Correspondent
Following government directives to celebrate the festival on a limited scale, Puja was celebrated in about 1200 Mandaps in Gopalganj this year. Under the direction of Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Muhammad Saidur Rahman Khan, with the overall cooperation of the district police and other law enforcement agencies, the Puja was held in various Mandaps in a fair and peaceful environment with strict observation and inspection.
On the occasion, Additional Superintendent of Police of Gopalganj Sadar Circle Mohammad Chhanwar Hossain visited different puja Mandaps including Sri Sri Ganesh Pagla Puja Mandap in Sadar Police Station area to monitor overall security.
At the time, he requested the puja celebration committee, pujaris and visitors to celebrate the puja following hygiene rules to prevent corona virus from spreading.
Earlier, the ASP on behalf of Bangladesh Police’s Dhaka Range DIG Habibur Rahman distributed gift items on last Friday night to enliven the festival. He handed over the gifts to the president and general secretary of various puja Mandaps including central Kalibari.
In Jhenaidah, Barwari puja mandir, Kalitala puja mandir and some other mandaps in the district town were crowded heavily with the footsteps of the women with red and other attractive colour dresses, especially, sarees. The women were exchanging deep red vermilion on each others’ foreheads desiring wellbeing of the family members round the year, reports our Roving Correspondent.
Lakkhi Rani Biswas, Mamata Saha, Mridula Das and some other women enjoying the sindurkhela when contacted said they participate in sindurkhela to wish each other and desire welfare of every families during the departure of Goddess Durga. They especially pray for their husbands so that he might be free from any evil touch of the bad people.
Jhenaidah Puja Udjapan Parishad leaders said the Hindu Community people arranged Durgapuja in 403 mandpas this year in six upazilas where the married women had been praying for the welfare of their families through sindurkhela.
It is a traditional activity with deep red vermilion. They believe Bhagwan (God) will protect them from the evil forces like global pandemic corona virus round the year with his will, the leaders said.
In Jashore, to mark the religious festival, puja mandaps and temples in the district town have turned into joyous places as thousands of devotees thronged there to celebrate their biggest religious festival. The festival was marked by Doshomi puja, Jatra Mongal, Anjali recitation, Ghat Bishorjon and Sidur Khela.
Sources said,Durga puja were celebrated in 632 mandaps in Jashore sadar, Abhaynagar,Keshabpur, Monirampur,Bagherpara, Jhikorgacha,Chaugacha and Sharsha upazilas under the district this year.Of them 129 mandaps were erected in sadar upazila,122 mandaps erected in Abhaynagar upazila, 91 mandaps erected in Keshabpur upazila, 89 mandaps erected in Monirampur upazila, 83 mandaps erected in Bagherpara upazila, 44 mandaps erected in Jhikorgacha upazila, 40 mandaps erected in Chaugacha upazila and 34 mandaps were erected in Sharsha upazila.Admistration took special security measures for ensuring safe,secured and peaceful celebrations of the puja festival.
District puja udjapon committee secretary Jogesh Chandra Dutta said that the Bijoya Doshomi was celebrated in a festive mood. Due to corona pandemic Hindu pilgrims were visited the puja mondaps wearing musk and maintain social distance to prevent coronavirus infection, he said.
Jashore district Awami League secretary Shahin Chaklader, MP, district AL president Shahidul Islam Milon, Jashore sadar upazila parishad newly elected chairman Nurjahan Islam Nira visited some of the town’s Puja Mandaps and exchanged their pleasantries with the devotees.
