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Saturday | October 10, 2026 | Dhaka

636 mandaps ready for Durga Puja

 S A Shofiee, Sylhet
 Published: 12:01 AM, 09 October 2026

A total of 636 puja mandaps have been prepared across Sylhet district and the metropolitan area for this year’s Sharadiya Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community.

The main rituals of Sharadiya Durga Puja will begin on Thursday, October 15, with Mahapanchami.
Idol-making, decoration of puja mandaps, shopping and other preparations are now nearing completion across the region.

According to sources in the Sylhet district and metropolitan units of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, 18 instructions have been issued for the smooth celebration of the festival, while an 11-member monitoring cell has been formed to oversee preparations.

This year, 146 public and 16 family pujas will be held in the Sylhet metropolitan area, with a total of 162 mandaps. In different upazilas of Sylhet district, 474 pujas will be held, including 26 family pujas.

In Golapganj, 58 public and five family pujas will be held, while Balaganj will host 30 public and three family pujas. Kanaighat will have 35 public and 20 family pujas, Fenchuganj 40 public and one family puja, Bishwanath 23 public and three family pujas, Gowainghat 40 public and two family pujas, Zakiganj 93 public and two family pujas, and Beanibazar 42 public and 12 family pujas.

In Companiganj and Osmaninagar upazilas, 28 public and 39 public pujas, respectively, will be held.
In the metropolitan area, 31 public and 11 family pujas will be held under Kotwali police station, 19 public and two family pujas under Jalalabad, 39 public and one family puja under Airport, 25 public and one family puja under Shahparan, and 17 public and one family puja under Moglabazar. The figures for Dakshin Surma in the source require verification.

Mahalaya, marking the beginning of Devi Paksha, will be observed on October 10. Tarpan, a ritual to pay homage to ancestors, will also be performed on the occasion.

A three-day Mahalaya programme began on October 8 at Sri Sri Balaram Jiur Akhara in Mirabazar, Sylhet.

According to the Hindu calendar, Maha Shashthi will be observed on October 16, Maha Saptami on October 17, Maha Ashtami on October 19, Maha Navami on October 20 and Vijaya Dashami on October 21.

Gopika Shyam Purkayastha Chayan, a leader of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, said the festival would be celebrated with joy and enthusiasm this year. Extensive preparations have been taken at the mandaps, while necessary instructions have been issued to ensure a peaceful celebration.

He said the government has extended cooperation to the puja organisers and advised mandap authorities to keep generators and rechargeable lights ready as alternative sources of electricity.

Deepak Kumar Das, another leader of the puja celebration committee, said security measures had been strengthened at the mandaps and volunteers would remain on duty during the celebrations.

He said the organisers were following government instructions and hoped that people from all communities would celebrate the festival peacefully and collectively.