News Flash
GAIBANDHA, Sept 30, 2025 (BSS) - The entire Gaibandha district has taken on a vibrant and festive atmosphere as Durga Puja, the most significant religious festival of the Hindu community, is being celebrated with deep devotion, communal harmony, and colourful festivities since Sunday.
President of District Puja Utjapon Parishad, Principal Paresh Chandra Saha, said a total of 585 puja mandaps have been erected across all seven upazilas of the district this year.
Of the total, 92 mandaps have been set up in Sadar upazila, 128 in Sundarganj, 133 in Gobindaganj, 107 in Sadullapur, 56 in Palashbari, 53 in Shaghata, and 16 in Fulchhari upazila, he added.
The entire district has taken on a festive look as Hindu devotees-men, women, children, and adolescents-dressed in fine attire are thronging different puja mandaps to catch a glimpse of Goddess Durga.
In a show of communal harmony, hundreds of Muslims and people of other faiths are also visiting the beautifully decorated mandaps and exchanging greetings with their Hindu friends and neighbours.
Earlier, the 'Bothan' or Shashti Puja and Maha Saptami were held at the mandaps over the past two days, local sources said.
The festival will come to a close on October 2 with the immersion of idols of Goddess Durga in nearby water bodies-ponds, canals, and rivers-after celebrating Bijoya Dashami.
To ensure peaceful celebrations, a large number of Ansar and VDP members, along with police personnel, have been deployed in and around the mandaps, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Nishat Angella.
She also mentioned that law enforcement agencies are patrolling roads round the clock to maintain law and order so that devotees can move safely from one mandap to another.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Choudhury Muazzam Ahmed told BSS that the district administration has distributed 292.5 tonnes of rice among the puja mandaps to assist the Hindu community in celebrating the festival peacefully.
