Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will provide security to around 1,800 Durga Puja mandaps located within eight kilometres of the country’s borders during the festival.
The force will set up 18 base camps in strategic border locations to strengthen security.
A round-the-clock control room has also been opened at BGB headquarters to monitor the situation and maintain communication with the puja mandaps.
BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui disclosed the plans to journalists on Thursday after visiting Ramna Kali Temple in Dhaka to review security preparations for the festival.
He said law enforcement agencies across the country are working to maintain law and order during Durga Puja in line with directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Under the plan, BGB will be responsible for securing all puja mandaps within eight kilometres of the border. Its personnel have already visited the mandaps and coordinated with the respective puja celebration committees, Siddiqui said.
The 18 base camps will be set up to cover mandaps in border areas located far from BGB border outposts (BOPs), he added.
BGB will also coordinate with police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure security at puja mandaps near its headquarters in Pilkhana, as well as around various battalion, sector and regional headquarters.
The control room at BGB headquarters will maintain round-the-clock communication with the mandaps, the director general said.
He added that puja committees and deployed Ansar members would be able to contact law enforcement agencies through the “Surakkha App” launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Authorities would take prompt action based on the situation, he said.
Asked about possible security threats, Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said risks could emerge at any time.
BGB personnel are collecting information, analysing intelligence and coordinating with other law enforcement agencies to ensure the festival was celebrated peacefully and in a festive atmosphere.
The visit to Ramna Kali Temple, Dhakeshwari National Temple and nearby puja mandaps was aimed at assessing security preparations on the ground and finalising coordination with the puja celebration committees, he said.
