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DHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 22, 2004: The five-day Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community, ends today with the immersion of the icons of Gods and Goddesses, marking the Bijoya Dashami throughout the country. The Hindu community on Friday celebrated the fourth day of the festival with the observance of “Mohanabami” at different puja mandaps (temporary sidewalk temples) in the city and elsewhere of the country. Food and Disaster Management Minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf visited several puja mandaps in Faridpur city and exchanged greetings with the devotees. He referred to the equal rights of all religious faiths in Bangladesh and said, “evil forces can never break out unity.” Mayor of Dhaka Sadek Hossain Khoka and State Minister for Home Lutfuzzaman Babor on Friday visited different puja mandops in the capital and exchanged greetings with the members of the Hindu religious faith.



For the first time in the past 30 years, the timing of Durga Puja coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramzan this year. The Hindu community is celebrating the Durga Puja in a joyous mood, erecting the highest number of mandaps across the country. Tight security, however, was enforced with extra police and elite forces including RAB and plainclothesmen keeping a vigil on the festival venues to combat any criminal attempts. On the other hand, coordination committees were formed at different local levels comprising Muslim and Hindu community leaders, imams and priests, local administrative and elected representatives so the Muslim and Hindu rituals did not clash in any way. Ministers in charges of districts and Members of Parliament also visited their respective areas to see the arrangements and extend support to the peaceful celebration of Durga puja. The Jatiya Puja Udjapan Parishad sources said the “darpan immersion” would be staged in the morning at the Dhakeswari National Temple while the temple authorities would mark the last day of the festival with a voluntary donation program at its premises. They said the icons from different temples would be carried to Dhakeswari Temple in the afternoon for immersion by 5-00 PM at Waize Ghat here.

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