Dhaka authorities converted a long-standing community demand into policy, extending official Durga Puja holidays to three days. This move, directed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahaman, grants the Hindu community a continuous five-day break from October 20 (Navami) to October 24, incorporating the regular Friday-Saturday weekend. The government simultaneously hiked funding for major puja mandaps to Tk 5 crore (approx. Rs 4 crore), up from the previous Tk 4 crore allocation.
Security concerns drove the operational changes. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed confirmed that security arrangements are now assigned across government agencies at national, divisional, district, and upazila levels. This heightened vigilance follows the recent vandalism of seven under-construction idols at a temple in Mirzapur, an incident that prompted a rapid response from the interior ministry.
The scale of the celebration has grown. The number of registered puja mandaps has increased by 1,500 from last year, reaching a total of 33,851 this year. To manage this density, officials will utilize a mobile application previously deployed by the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC). The tool facilitates rapid dissemination of information about any untoward incident, allowing for a faster police response than manual reporting methods.
The government aims to ensure smooth celebrations through this digital-physical hybrid monitoring system. With the holiday period commencing October 20, the Home Ministry’s focus shifts to real-time data flow from the NTMC app, ensuring that any breach in security at the 33,851 sites is flagged and addressed immediately.