Prime Minister Joins Hindu Devotees at Mandaps in Three Divisions on Maha Navami

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman began a multi-division tour of Durga Puja mandaps on Tuesday, the ninth day of the Sharadiya festival known as Maha Navami. The visits took him to Rangpur, Rajshahi and Chattogram, where he met devotees, exchanged greetings and observed the ongoing rituals at selected pandals.

He left Dhaka in the morning aboard a military aircraft and reached Saidpur Airport at approximately 9:50 a.m. Senior local officials, including the Disaster Management and Relief Minister, the divisional commissioner, and senior police and administrative officers, received him on the tarmac. After completing formalities, the Prime Minister continued by road toward Rangpur. Officials said short roadside stops were planned so he could address small gatherings of residents along the route before reaching the main mandap in the city.

The programme is the first time a sitting head of government has undertaken such a tour specifically to visit puja mandaps in three separate divisions on the same day of the festival. Community organisers in each location described the stops as brief opportunities for the Prime Minister to convey good wishes and to underline that the celebrations form part of the country's shared cultural calendar. Government spokespeople have framed the itinerary as consistent with earlier statements by the Prime Minister calling for people of all faiths to work together in public life.

Maha Navami is one of the most significant days of the five-day Durga Puja observance for Bangladesh's Hindu community. Across the country, mandaps host elaborate rituals, including the sandhi puja that bridges Ashtami and Navami, and the worship of young girls as representations of the goddess. In recent years the festival has drawn large crowds in both urban centres and smaller towns, with temporary pandals constructed by local committees. This year's celebrations have taken place under heightened security arrangements after officials repeatedly stated that any attempt to interfere with the rituals would be met with firm action.

Police leadership has issued public appeals for vigilance while reiterating that the administration's priority is to ensure devotees can complete the prescribed ceremonies without disruption. In the capital and in the districts the Prime Minister is visiting, additional personnel have been deployed around major mandaps, and local committees have coordinated with law-enforcement agencies on crowd management and fire-safety measures.

The tour also occurs against the backdrop of the government's broader messaging on communal harmony. In recent days the Prime Minister has spoken about the need for unity that extends beyond religious identity, linking the idea to both the country's 1971 Liberation War and the political changes of 2024. Officials say the mandap visits are intended to give practical expression to that message by placing the head of government among devotees on one of the festival's principal days.

By early afternoon the Rangpur portion of the programme was under way, with the Rajshahi and Chattogram legs scheduled to follow. Each stop is expected to last long enough for greetings and a short exchange rather than extended speeches. Local organisers in all three divisions had prepared reception arrangements in advance, and community leaders said they viewed the Prime Minister's presence as a sign that the festival could be observed openly and peacefully.

As the day progressed, devotees continued the traditional rituals inside the mandaps while the Prime Minister's motorcade moved between the planned locations. Officials indicated that the full itinerary would conclude later in the afternoon once the Chattogram visit was completed. The tour forms part of a series of public engagements the Prime Minister has undertaken around the festival period, including earlier appearances at events in Dhaka.