Sharadiya Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindu community, will begin on Wednesday with invocation of goddess Durga on the day of Maha Shasthi at temples and makeshift mandaps across the country amid due religious fervour and festivity.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin and chief adviser to the interim government professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday greeted people of the Hindu community on the occasion of Durga Puja.
Meanwhile, the government issued a notification extending holiday for one more day on the Durga Puja to facilitate smooth celebration.
The government declared the nationwide public holiday on October 10 through an executive order in light of the Durga Puja, said the notification issued on Tuesday by the public administration ministry.
The annual five-day festival will commence with Kalparambho in the morning which will be followed by various other rites, including Adhibash, Amantran in the late afternoon.
On October 10, the second day of the celebration, Maha Saptami puja will be held in the morning as nabapatrika, nine plants including a banana tree tied together and wrapped in a white saree with red borders, and bathed in the water of the holy Ganges will be placed next to Ganesha on that day.
On the third day of Maha Ashtami on October 11, different rituals including Ashtami puja, offering Anjali, Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja will be held in the morning.
Maha Nabami tithi will also begin on the same day and it will last till 6:12am on October 12. So rituals of Maha Nabami will be performed on the both days.
Rituals of Dashami Puja will also be held on both October 12 and 13. The festival will end on October 13 with immersion of idols in nearby rivers or ponds. Generally, the largest immersion is held at the world鈥檚 largest sea beach Cox鈥檚 Bazar every year.
According to legend, goddess Durga arrives on earth from heaven during the puja. This year, the goddess will arrive on palanquin.
Dhaka metropolitan police commissioner Md Mainul Hassan on Tuesday said that special security measures had been taken at 253 puja mandaps and immersion places under its jurisdiction to hold the puja in a peaceful and festive manner.
鈥楾here are no security threats around Durga Puja this time. We don鈥檛 see any risk,鈥� he added.
This year Durga Puja will be celebrated at 31,461 puja mandaps across the country, including 252 in Dhaka.
