ZCZC
BSS-05
DURGA-PUJA-GAIBANDHA
Durga Puja begins in Gaibandha
GAIBANDHA, Oct 15, 2018 (BSS) – Celebration of 5-day long Durga Puja, the
biggest religious festival of the Hindu Community, has begun today here with
the ‘Abahan’ and ‘Bodhon’ (incarnation) of the Goddess of strength, courage,
peace and enlightenment.
According to mythology, on Maha Shashti day, the first day of the 5-day
festival, the Goddess Durga descends on the mortal earth from her heavenly
adobe with her four children including Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshami and
Saraswati and the beautiful idols of Maa Dura are opened for people to look
through.
Her arrival on earth is welcomed by the devotees with much fanfare, amidst
the beats of dhak (Drum) and the main ritual carried on this day is the
unveiling of the face of the idol of Goddess Durga.
The rituals of Bodhon, Amontron and Adibas are performed before the
commencement of the Puja, the mythology also said.
This time, the goddess Durga would appear on the earth by rising horse and
make her return journey in litter (dola), said Soilen Chakrabartee, a priest
of Shitrarm Shib Temple of the district town.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Puja Celebration Parishad, district unit,
Dipak Kumar Pal said the devotees installed colorful images of the goddess
Durga in a total of 613 Puja mandaps in the district with attractive
decorations.
Of them, some 141 mandaps have been erected at Sadar upazila, 123 at
Gobindaganj upazila, 141 at Sundarganj upazila, 103 at Sadullapur upazila, 61
at Palashbari upazila, 67 at Shaghata upazila and 18 at Fulchhari upazila, he
also said.
Earlier, the idol-makers worked round the clock, finished their jobs
timely with the final touches and made the idols very beautiful, charming and
attractive in the mandaps to all.
The whole district has taken a festive look as the Hindu devotees
including men, women, boys, girls, youths and adolescents attired in fine
dresses are thronging different Puja mandaps to have a look at goddess Durga
and seeking the blessing from Mother Durga.
Besides, hundreds of Muslims and people of other religious faiths are also
visiting the mandaps decorated colorfully and exchanging greetings with their
Hindu friends and neighbors on Durga Puja.
The greatest festival will end on October 19 through the immersion of
idols of Mother Durga in different water bodies like pond, canal and rivers
after celebrating the Bijoya Dashami by the Hindu community.
Initiative has been taken to provide uninterrupted power supply to the
Puja mandaps at nights to enable the Hindu devotees in offering their
prayers, puja, archana, kirtons, arati and other religious rituals, said
executive engineer of Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited (NESCO)
here Anwarul Islam.
To celebrate the festival peacefully in the district a large number of law
enforcers including RAB, police and Ansar-VDP have been deployed in and
around the Puja mandaps and they are also patrolling the roads to maintain
the law and order situation under control, said superintendent of police
Engineer M. Abdul Mannan Miah.
Talking to the BSS, Deputy Commissioner Sebastin Rema said the government
distributed 306.50 tonnes of rice for the Puja mandaps through district and
upazila administration to assist the Hindu community to celebrate the
festival peacefully.
BSS/CORR/MR/ 1130 hrs