Sylhet gears up for Durga Puja
Only a couple of days remaining till Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bengali Hindu community, begins and Sylhet city is buzzing with activity.
In preparation of the five-day Sharadiya (autumnal) Durga Utshab -- starting from tomorrow -- artisans, organisers and instrumentalists are very busy. In Sylhet division, around 2,600 mandaps have been set up, including 63 in the city.
Rajat Kanti Gupta, general secretary of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad in Sylhet city, said that the Hindu community in Sylhet has taken adequate preparations to welcome Goddess Durga and all measures including security have been taken by the Parishad in every mandap.
Artisans in Sylhet said the idol-making process is lengthy but they have already finished almost all works and are now decorating the idols with colours, clothing and ornaments.
Shankar Paul, a veteran idol-maker in Sylhet, said the profession is not as profitable as it was several years back but they are devoted to it and hence still continuing it.
As Durga Puja demands music, traditional instrument makers are busy making dhak, Bangla dhol, khol, dugi, tabla, khomok, nal and khonjoni, Mrityunjoy Hrishi, an instrument maker at Chowhatta area in the city, said.
The sale of clay pots has also spiked ahead of Durga Puja and sellers in Laldighirpar and Kean Bridge areas are busy selling them.
Abdul Wahab, additional deputy commissioner (Media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, said enough police will be deployed at every mandap to avoid untoward incidents.
“We are also considering all possible security threats and have circulated detailed instructions to be followed by the organisers and the devotees,” he said.
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