Bangladesh has announced a five-day break for the upcoming Sharadiya Durga Puja, with the official festival holiday extended to three days.
Making the announcement, Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed today said, combined with the regular Friday and Saturday weekend, the decision will provide a total five-day holiday. The Home Minister made the announcement following a high-level coordination meeting on security arrangements for the peaceful celebration of Durga Puja. He said the decision to extend the holiday was taken in response to longstanding demands from the Hindu community.
The Bangladesh government has also increased the allocation for Durga Puja mandaps to five crore taka from four crore taka, following directives from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The Home Minister said, the number of puja mandaps across Bangladesh has risen by nearly 1,500 from last year to 33,851. He added that government agencies at the national, divisional, district and upazila levels have been assigned responsibility for ensuring security and the smooth conduct of the celebrations.
Twenty-four-hour monitoring cells will also operate at Police Headquarters and at the divisional and district police levels throughout the festival.
