SRB to provide security for Durga festivals across Khulna

SRB (Special Response Battalion) are set to provide 3-teired security across 8 districts in the Khulna division during the ongoing Sharadiya Durga festival. To ensure a successful and smooth celebration of the Sharadiya Durga Puja, the elite force, SRB has implemented a three-tiered security arrangement across eight districts in the Khulna region.

In the first tier, SRB patrol teams are conducting on-site visits to the ‘puja mandaps’ (worship venues) to ensure security, while temporary checkposts have been set up at key entry points to the cities and ‘upazilas’ to screen suspicious individuals and vehicles. In the second tier, plainclothes field agents and intelligence personnel are maintaining surveillance to safeguard the festivities. In the third tier, a reserve force has been kept on standby to ensure a rapid response to any unforeseen situation.

Lieutenant Colonel Nistar Ahmed, Commanding Officer of SRB-6, Khulna, shared these details during a press briefing held on Saturday morning (October 17) at the Dharmasabha Mandir in the city.

He noted that the Sharadiya Durga Puja is the largest religious festival for the Hindu community. The festival commenced on October 10 with ‘Mahalaya’ and will conclude on October 21 with ‘Vijaya Dashami’. "Our primary objective is to ensure that the festival is celebrated in a peaceful and harmonious environment, thereby upholding communal harmony," he said

Lieutenant Colonel Nistar Ahmed further stated that, following directives from the SRB headquarters, special patrol operations have been underway since October 13 to secure the ‘puja mandaps’. Celebrations are currently taking place across 5,354 ‘puja mandaps’ located within the eight districts under the jurisdiction of the Special Response Battalion-6.

He later added, “Coordination meetings involving all law enforcement agencies have already been held at the divisional, district, and upazila levels. As in previous years, through the collaborative efforts of the organizing committees, the public, the media, and law enforcement, we will be able to ensure that the Puja festival is celebrated safely and without any complications.”

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