Preparations for the Sharadiya Durga Puja festival are complete in Cox’s Bazar, where the festival will be celebrated at 324 mandaps this year, six more than last year.
Of the total mandaps, 154 will host idol worship, while 170 will hold ghata puja, according to the Cox’s Bazar district unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.
The five-day festival will begin with Maha Shashthi on Friday, October 16, and conclude with Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday, October 21.
Chakaria upazila will have the most mandaps, with 71. Kutubdia will have 44, Ramu 37, Cox’s Bazar Sadar upazila 31, Eidgaon 29, Maheshkhali upazila 28, Cox’s Bazar municipality 26 and Chakaria municipality 25.
Pekua and Ukhiya will each have nine mandaps, while Maheshkhali municipality and Teknaf will have six each.
Mandap committees have made the necessary preparations to ensure the festival runs smoothly. Alongside religious rituals, they are focusing on visitors’ movement, maintaining order and creating a festive atmosphere.
Advocate Bappi Sharma, president of the Cox’s Bazar Sadar upazila unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, said preparations had been taken to ensure a peaceful and orderly celebration.
“The concerned committees are working to ensure that religious rituals are observed properly at every mandap while maintaining a festive atmosphere,” he said.
Swapan Das, acting general secretary of the parishad’s district unit, announced that the festival would take place at all 324 mandaps. He called on all concerned to cooperate in maintaining order, ensuring smooth movement for visitors, and providing a safe environment.
He expressed hope that people from all religious and social backgrounds would join the celebrations, turning the festival into an occasion for communal harmony and goodwill.
Dolon Dhar, a trustee of the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust responsible for Cox’s Bazar, said preparatory meetings had been held with the administration, law enforcement agencies and leaders of mandap committees.
He expressed hope that cooperation and mutual harmony would help ensure a joyful celebration.
Cox’s Bazar district police spokesperson Debdut Majumder said district police, plainclothes police, traffic police and tourist police would be deployed to ensure security during the festival.
He said measures would be taken not only to protect the mandaps but also to ensure the safety of tourists visiting Cox’s Bazar.
By Abdu Rashid Manik
Photo: Abdu Rashid Manik
