PM visits Rajshahi temple, hands over Tk 10 Lakh for Durga Puja

Rajshahi Bureau: Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday visited the Durga Puja mandap at the historic Dharmasabha Temple in Rajshahi and exchanged greetings with members of the Hindu community, reaffirming the importance of communal harmony and religious coexistence.The Prime Minister arrived at the temple at 5:15pm after addressing a public meeting at the historic Haji Muhammad Mohsin Government High School ground in the city. Earlier in the day, he visited Rangpur as part of a daylong tour of three divisions to extend greetings to Hindu devotees celebrating Sharadiya Durga Puja.On arrival, he was welcomed by Dharmasabha Temple President Professor Bishwanath Sarkar, Vice-President Achinta Kumar Biswas, General Secretary Biswajit Biswas and other temple leaders.During an exchange-of-views meeting with members of the Hindu community, participants requested the government to consider establishing a dedicated fund to support the celebration of religious festivals and the construction of temples.They also expressed satisfaction with the increased government grants and support for this year's Durga Puja celebrations, saying such assistance would help communities observe the festival with greater enthusiasm.The Prime Minister handed over a cheque for Tk 10 lakh to the temple authorities to support its activities.The visit was particularly significant as it marked Tarique Rahman's first trip to Rajshahi since the BNP formed the government after securing a majority in the 13th parliamentary election.Among those present were BNP Standing Committee Member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Women and Children Affairs Minister Professor AZM Zahid Hossain, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, Prime Minister's Adviser Rehan Asif Asad, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Bijon Kanti Sarker and BNP Special Secretary Belayet Hossain Mridha.Dharmasabha Temple Treasurer Ashok Kumar Sarkar, Organising Secretary Subrata Roy, Joint General Secretary Prashanta Kumar Debnath, Office Secretary Akash Kumar Das, Publicity Secretary Swapan Kumar Ghosh, Joint Secretary Sukumar Sarkar, Mahendra Chandra Sarkar, Sanat Kumar Saha and Debashish Roy Madhu were also present.Temple priest Bidyut Kumar Majumder, assistant priest Muaz Majumder and sebaits Dr Shikha Sarkar and Samamita Biswas attended the programme.Earlier, the Prime Minister departed from Tejgaon Airport in Dhaka at 9:00am and reached Saidpur Airport in Nilphamari at 9:50am aboard a military aircraft.From Saidpur, he travelled to Rangpur, where he addressed roadside gatherings at Taraganj and Paglapir before visiting the puja mandap at Radha Gobinda Temple to exchange greetings with devotees.Following his Rajshahi visit, the Prime Minister was scheduled to travel to Chattogram to visit the Durga Puja mandap at JM Sen Hall in Rahmatganj before returning to Dhaka later in the evening.Earlier, he had also visited puja mandaps in the Mohakhali and Banani areas of Dhaka with his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman.Tuesday marked Maha Navami, the ninth day of the five-day Sharadiya Durga Puja festivities. The celebrations are scheduled to conclude on Wednesday with the immersion of idols on Bijoya Dashami, bringing the annual festival to a close.