<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community, is set to begin on Friday with Maha Sashthi puja at temples across the country.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Preparations at all the puja mandaps have nearly been completed.</div><div><br></div><div>Centering the festival, devotees and artisans are busy in decorating the temples and pandals across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>A mood of festivities persists among the devotees irrespective of ages marking the festival while adequate security measures have already been taken in the puja pandals across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The five-day festival starts with 'Bodhon' of the Goddess Durga marking Sashthi while the festival will come to an end with the immersion of the idols of the Goddess Durga in the nearby rivers and water bodies across the country on October 24.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, on October 16, Police Headquarters issued&nbsp; an advisory to the Hindu community for the smooth celebration of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Hindu community in the country.</div><div><br></div><div>The PHQ urged the Hindu community to remain aware about those involved in spreading rumour in the social networking sites including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in a bid to harm religious harmony.</div><div><br></div><div>It also asked the puja organisers to set up separate entry ways for female and male devotees.</div><div><br></div><div>All were asked to refrain from carrying any bags at the puja mandaps.</div><div><br></div><div>It also asked to ensure CCTV cameras and fire extinguishers and established archways in important puja Mandaps.</div><div><br></div><div>The PHQ also asked the authorities concerned to keep sufficient lights on the immersion day and keep generator, charger lights standby for any emergency, if possible.</div><div><br></div><div>It also asked the authorities concerned to appoint volunteers for security.</div><div><br></div><div>The PHQ also asked to refrain from firecrackers during puja.</div><div><br></div><div>It also asked to use designated routes for immersion of idols and ensure attendance of volunteers at the Puja mandaps.</div><div><br></div><div>In any emergency, PHQ asked to call the police headquarters, DMP control room or Rapid Action Battalion control room.</div><div><br></div><div>The control room numbers are—01320001299, 01320001300, 01-55102666, 02-223381188, 02-47119988, 01320037845-46, 02-48963117 and 01777720029.</div><div><br></div><div>Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman on Thursday said that there is no specific security threat during the Durga puja and all necessary measures have been taken in this regard.</div><div><br></div><div>“There is no specific threat in the Dhaka metropolitan area on the occasion of puja. However, our plan has been taken keeping all kinds of concerns in mind and we are ready to deal with all kinds of threats,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>