Durga Puja: ‘Security can’t be for 5 days, it must be for 365 days’

The Hindu community does not want to see attacks on idols and temples during the upcoming Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Hindus, said leaders of two organisations yesterday.

They said even while preparations for the Puja are going on, incidents of vandalising temples and idols have already taken place in 13 districts. In these cases, law enforcement forces acted quickly and arrested the accused.

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Ensure security during Durga Puja

"If we want to build a discrimination-free Bangladesh, we should not only think about security for five days of Puja, we have to think about security for all 365 days," said Jayanta Kumar Deb, president of Mohanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee.

The issue was raised at a press conference jointly organised by the Mohanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad at the Dhakeshwari National Temple auditorium in Dhaka.

Reading out a written statement, Jayanta said before the Puja, they demanded the withdrawal of false and baseless cases filed against religious and ethnic minority leaders and innocent people.

Puja Udjapan Parishad President Basudev Dhar said many people of the Hindu community have become victims of these fabricated cases. He requested the government to allow them to take part in the Puja.

Subrata Chowdhury, the Puja Udjapan Parishad's adviser, said those involved in vandalising idols and temples should be punished in accordance with the law.

At the press conference, the leaders also urged that during the Puja the metro rail should remain open until 11:00pm to facilitate smooth movement.

According to the Puja Udjapan Parishad, this year Puja is being held at 33,355 mandaps across the country, 1,894 more than last year, and at 259 mandaps in Dhaka city, seven more than the previous year.

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