Nation celebrating 2nd Eid-ul-Fitr during pandemic
Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of Muslims, is being celebrated today with due fervor and enthusiasm after a month of fasting.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted the nation in separate messages on the occasion of holy Eid-ul-Fitr.
Like last year, Eid is being celebrated in a different scenario, without any outdoor programme and Eid jamaat at Eidgahs across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The government has urged people to avoid Eidgah or other open places for Eid congregations and offer prayers at local mosques maintaining health guidelines.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs issued an emergency circular recently saying, "Although the Islamic Sharia encourages offering Eid prayer at Eidgah or open places, the devotees are now requested to offer their prayers at nearby mosques due to the coronavirus situation."
The devotees have been urged to bring prayer mats from home. Other than that, arrangements should be made at entrances of the mosques for washing hands, the notification added.
The devotees must wear masks inside mosques and avoid using prayer mats and caps that were stored there. Children, elderly people, people with physical ailments, and those taking care of the unwell should not be allowed to attend jamaats, it said.
Apart from these, the devotees were requested to avoid shaking hands and the customary hugging after the prayers.
In Dhaka, the main Eid congregation was held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the morning. Five congregations will take place there, according to Islamic Foundation.
Television channels and radio stations will telecast special programmes.
Special food will be served in hospitals, jails, state children's homes, centres for persons with disabilities, shelter homes, orphanages, and welfare centres.
Both the Dhaka city corporations have no formalities on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr as there is no initiative to hold Eid jamaat on open spaces, according to the officials of the Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations.
No Eid congregation will be held on the open field under the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) area due to the coronavirus pandemic, said DNCC sources, adding that DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam greeted the city dwellers marking the Eid festival.
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