Thakurgaon preparing for Durga Puja at 465 mandaps this year
Preparations for the celebrations of Sharodiya Durga Puja Utsab, the biggest religious festival of the Bangalee Hindus, are going on in full swing in Thakurgaon.
The celebrations will start on October 11 with Maha Sashthi and end with Bijoya Dashami on October 15 through the immersion of idols in the rivers and other water bodies.
Though the leaders of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad asked for restraint in puja celebration considering the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the devotees want to celebrate the occasion with huge festivity observing all the rituals.
Tapan Kumar Ghosh, general secretary of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad Thakurgaon district unit, said Durga Puja is going to be held at 465 mandaps in five upazilas of the district.
Of them, 203 are in Sadar, 118 in Pirganj, 54 in Ranishankoil, 25 in Haripur and 65 in Baliadangi upazila.
Sudam Sarkar, president of Durgabari Mandir Committee in Thakurgaon municipality area, said "We decided to observe the puja without much extravagance but the devotees want to celebrate it in a usual manner like the pre-Covid time."
Shamol Kumar Roy, president of Farabari Sarodiya Durga Mandap Committee in Sadar upazila, said they are taking the best of preparations to observe the religious occasion with great festivity.
With Durga Puja just around the corner, craftsmen in the district are busy meeting deadlines in making the tableaux of the Hindu goddess Durga.
This year, they are hoping for a good return than the previous year.
Visiting different puja mandaps in Thakurgaon municipality and Sadar upazila, this correspondent found that the artisans were making preparations for the painting work, the finishing touch of the idols.
Dipen Paul, an artisan working at Chowrangi Puja Mandap at Yakubpur village in Thakurgaon Sadar upazia, said he has got two more contracts for making idols at Munshirhat village under the same upazila and another in Panchagarh's Debiganj upazila.
"After meeting the expenses, I hope to make a profit of Tk one lakh this year," he said.
Replying to a query, he said last year he made a single tableaux of goddess Durga and could make a profit of Tk 10,000 only due to lockdown for Covid-19 pandemic.
Prosenjeet Roy, an artisan of Deogaon village in Sadar upazila, said he got contracts for four tableauxs this season while it was only two last year.
Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, superintendent of police in Thakurgaon, said, "We have already taken foolproof security measures to ensure peaceful observance of Durga Puja. Ansar members and local volunteers will work with police teams to ensure safety at puja mandaps during the five-day celebrations."
Apart from the police, several teams of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will keep vigilance centring the mandaps in the entire district, the SP added.
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