Durga Puja ends peacefully in Bangladesh amid festivity, devotion

Dhaka, Oct 2 (PTI) The five-day Durga Puja festival concluded peacefully in Bangladesh on Thursday, with members of the Hindu community immersing idols of the deity in rivers across the country amid festivity and devotion.

Thousands of people thronged the River Buriganga in Dhaka to observe the final phase of the festival with immersion of the goddess, singing hymns to Goddess Durga, as musical instruments like ‘Shankha’, ‘Khol’, ‘Dhak’ were played in the background as part of the ritual.

“Our festival has been concluded in peace and festivity,” a spokesman of the Sharadiya Durga Puja Celebration Council of Dhaka city told reporters.

He said the Bijaya Dashami on Thursday marked the end of the Bangadeshi Hindus' biggest festival, with devotees carrying idols from temples and puja mandaps in vibrant processions, chanting mantras.

According to reports, elsewhere in Bangladesh, followers of the country’s second-largest religious faith also joined the Bijaya Dashami processions, beating traditional dhak-dhol, blowing conch shells, and performing 'uludhoni' before immersing the idols in rivers, ponds, and other water bodies.

This year’s puja began on September 28 with “Maha Shashthi” and concluded with “Dashami” and according to the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council, the number of puja mandaps was 33,355 nationwide, including 258 in Dhaka city.

The interim government allocated Tk 5 crore for puja celebrations.

“We want to thank the state and particularly the military troops who stood by us during the celebration. There was no major (untoward) incident,” Kajol Debnath, a key figure of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council told PTI.

He, however, added that the celebrations were largely peaceful, other than some sporadic obstacles in 14 of Bangladesh’s 64 administrative districts.

The end of the puja came two days after the Bangladeshi religious minority community’s main forum said it “deeply regrets and expresses indignation” against comments of interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus for denying reports of repression of Hindus in the country in the recent period in an interview with a foreign media outlet.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said “the truth has been denied” in Yunus’s comments to Zetro news and demanded immediate steps by his administration to stop repressions on minority communities, particularly on Hindus.

Yunus, in the interview on September 30, rejected allegations of communal persecution or anti-Hindu violence under his administration, claiming “fake news” originating from India was making such accusations.

The relations between India and Bangladesh came under strain after the interim government headed by Yunus came to power last year in August.

India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in the country. PTI AR GRS GRS GRS