UNB, Kishoreganj :
The largest Eid congregation at Sholakia Eidgah Maidan in Kishoreganj will be held at 10am on Eid day, after a Covid-induced hiatus of two years.
Kishoreganj deputy commissioner Md Shamim Alam, also the president of the Eidgah Management Committee, said this on Thursday after inspecting the maidan ahead of the 195th Eid-ul-Fitr prayers.
Maulana Farid Uddin Masud will lead the Eid congregation and Maulana Shoaib bin A Rauf will be the standby Imam.
Worshipers will be allowed to enter the maidan with only prayer mats and masks. They will, however, be allowed to carry their mobile phones.
According to the Sholakia Eidgah managing committee, a four-tier security system has been put in place to ensure the safety of the devotees.
A total of five platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be deployed besides Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), police and detectives. Apart from CCTV cameras, drones will be deployed to keep an eagle eye on the ground.
Two fire tenders and six ambulances will be on standby for any emergency.
Two special trains — both named Sholakia Express — will run on Bhairab-Kishoreganj and Mymensingh-Kishoreganj routes to ensure that devotees can join the largest Eid Jamaat, officials said.
The Eidgah is situated on the northern bank of the Norsunda river. Mannan Dad Khan, former Dewan of Haibatnagar in Kishoreganj, donated 4.35 acres of land through Waqf deeds in 1950 and now the Eidgah has an area of seven acres.
The waqf document mentions that Eid Jamaat was held at Sholakia Eidgah Maidan some 200 years ago.
