Chief Adviser of the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, paid a visit to the historic Dhakeshwari National Temple on Tuesday morning, September 16.

The visit came a day after leaders from various Puja Celebration Councils met with him at the state guest house Jamuna. During that meeting, they invited him to visit different puja mandaps during the upcoming Durga Puja festival.

Dr. Yunus told the leaders that while he often wishes to meet them more frequently, such opportunities usually come only during festivals. He inquired about preparations and overall arrangements for this year’s celebrations.

Hindu community representatives informed him that compared to last year, over a thousand more puja mandaps are being built across the country. They noted that preparations are progressing in full swing and thanked the interim government for its support. In particular, they expressed gratitude to the Adviser for Religious Affairs and the Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs for their cooperation.

The leaders also highlighted that the Religious Affairs Adviser has been in regular contact with them and has visited temples to oversee preparations. They expressed hope that, like the previous year, this year’s Durga Puja will also be celebrated peacefully and smoothly with strong administrative support.

The Metropolitan Puja Committee President, Jayanta Kumar Dev, also thanked the government for allocating land through the Railway Ministry for a permanent Durga temple in Dhaka.

Dr. Yunus conveyed his appreciation to everyone involved and extended early greetings for the festival. He also urged all parties to remain vigilant so that no scope for unrest or conspiracy could arise during the celebrations.

The meeting was attended by Religious Affairs Adviser Dr. A. F. M. Khalid Hossain, Primary and Mass Education Adviser Professor Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, Vice-Chairman of the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust Tapan Chandra Majumdar, Secretary Debendra Nath Urao, and several senior leaders of Hindu religious and social organizations including Swami Purnananda of Ramakrishna Mission, Basudev Dhar, Jayanta Kumar Dev, Professor Hirendranath Biswas, Biman Bihari Talukdar, S. N. Tarun Dey, Aparna Roy Das, Narayan Chandra Dutta, and Pranita Sarkar.