BNP will form monitoring committees at the district, upazila and municipal levels to oversee arrangements for the smooth, peaceful and festive celebration of Sharadiya Durga Puja, the party’s Joint Secretary General Syed Emran Saleh Prince said on Tuesday.
“We have decided to form similar monitoring committees at the district, upazila and municipal levels. These committees will include our party leaders as well as members of the local Hindu community who are involved in organising the puja,” Prince said.
He disclosed the plan at a press conference after a meeting of the BNP-formed Durga Puja Monitoring Committee at the party’s central office.
BNP will also set up a monitoring cell at its central office in Nayapaltan to oversee arrangements for the festival, which is scheduled to be celebrated from October 16 to 21.
The monitoring cell will remain operational round the clock during the festival, Prince said.
He said the party had already instructed all its district, upazila and municipal committees to help ensure an uninterrupted celebration of the festival. The party’s divisional organising secretaries and assistant organising secretaries are coordinating the activities, he added.
The committees will work with deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and other government officials responsible for ensuring security and facilitating the celebrations, he added.
Prince said BNP Assistant Organising Secretary Jayanta Kumar Kundu, who is also a member of the monitoring committee, had been assigned responsibility for the central monitoring cell.
“We will open a WhatsApp group and arrange visits to puja mandaps across the country through the central committee and our district and upazila committees,” he said.
The monitoring teams at the district, police station, upazila, municipal, ward and union levels would visit local puja mandaps and provide feedback to the central committee.
BNP Joint Secretary General and monitoring committee Convener Khairul Kabir Khokon said the party was taking extensive measures to ensure that the upcoming Durga Puja could be celebrated peacefully and securely.
He said the party was particularly cautious about security arrangements and working to ensure that members of the Hindu community could celebrate without disruption.
Acknowledging the possibility of conspiracies, he said the party was taking additional precautions this year.
BNP would remain alert and work with the administration and the public to address any such threats, he added.
After the press conference, the committee visited Ramakrishna Mission to observe preparations and identify any difficulties faced by the organisers or assistance they might need.
BNP National Executive Committee Assistant Organising Secretary Jayanta Kumar Kundu; Assistant Secretary for Marginalised People Development Aparna Roy Das; Assistant Secretaries for Religious Affairs Amalendu Das Apu and John Gomes; and National Executive Committee members Advocate Nipun Roy Chowdhury and Ramesh Dutta, among other monitoring committee members attended the program.