The government has taken all possible measures for holding the five-day Durga Puja celebrations in a festive manner as Home Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury instructed law enforcers to ensure its peaceful celebration. 

The home adviser has said all possible measures have been taken for peaceful and festive celebrations of the upcoming Durga Puja.

This year, as many as 32,990 puja mandaps have been set up across the country to celebrate Durga Puja from September 28 to October 2, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.  

Allocations for the puja mandaps have been increased to Tk 5 crore this year from Tk 2 crore during the fallen fascist Awami League government. The interim government had allocated Tk 4 crore last year for the Durga Puja celebrations.

Each of the puja mandaps will also get 500 kilogram of rice apart from the money for ensuring festive celebrations of the Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu Community.

The government has also made a detailed security plan for peaceful celebrations of Puja after holding meetings with all the stakeholders including the leaders of the puja celebration committees.

Security in three phases -- pre-puja, during puja, idol immersion and post puja-- will be in place around the Puja Mandaps across the country to ensure peaceful celebrations.

Around 2 lakh Ansar personnel and 80,000 volunteers from the ministry of women and children will be deployed at the nationwide Puja Mandaps, alongside the members from police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) and military force.

Home Adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the deployment of the law enforcement agencies will be in place across the country from September 24 (today) to ensure blanket security over the Durga Puja celebrations.

He said the BGB has been asked to concentrate on the puja mandaps installed at the border areas while the Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard and River Police have been entrusted with taking care of the puja mandaps set up at the coastal belts and riversides.

River Police have specially been assigned to ensure safe immersion of the idols of the Goddess Durga. 

"Eight Ansar men and seven volunteers appointed by the respective puja celebration committee will be deployed at each of the puja mandaps alongside the volunteers from the ministry of women and children affairs," the home adviser said.  

He said each of the puja mandaps have been asked to install CCTV cameras to ensure their round-the-clock security.

To make the security foolproof, petrol teams from police, RAB, and BGB will conduct regular patrols around the puja mandaps, he said, adding that the armed forces personnel will act as striking force.   

Jahangir Alam Chowdhury also said that an app was also developed for getting prompt information of any possible untoward incidents at the puja mandaps which help law enforcers to take immediate action.

Replying to a question, the home adviser confirmed that there are no security threats around the Puja celebrations this year.

Police, RAB and military personnel will also oversee the overall security measures for peaceful and festive celebrations, he added.

"So, there is no security concern. Durga Puja will be celebrated this year with due religious fervor, sanctity, and festivity," he said.

The home adviser called upon all not to pay heed to any rumour centering the Durga Puja.

"We're seeking everyone's cooperation for peaceful and festive celebrations," he said.

He hoped that this year's Dura Puja celebration will be much better in comparison to the previous year.

Inspector General of police (IGP) Baharul Alam said police will take security measures in three phases - pre-puja, during puja and idol immersion, and post-puja - to ensure peaceful celebrations of Puja.

SWAT, Crime Response Team (CRT) and Bomb Disposal Unit will be ready round the clock to deal with any possible untoward situation during Durga Puja, he said.

Monitoring cells will be operational at Police Headquarters and other police units on the occasion, he continued.

The police are making efforts to ensure that no one can cause any untoward incident during Durga Puja, he said.

To avoid any untoward situation, the leaders of the Puja Udjapan Parishad are requested to contact the National Emergency Service 999 or the nearest police station, he added.