The Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) has allocated Tk36.70 lakh in financial assistance to 294 Durga Puja mandaps and other religious venues and communities across the city ahead of the upcoming Sharadiya Durga Puja.
CCC Mayor Sahadat Hossain handed over cheques to the presidents and general secretaries of the Puja mandaps at a ceremony held at the Theatre Institute in Chattogram on Thursday.
Of the total allocation, Tk14.70 lakh has been provided to 294 Puja mandaps under 16 police station areas to cover generator fuel costs, with each venue receiving Tk5,000.
The J M Sen Hall Puja mandap has received Tk 500,000, while Tk 15 lakh has been allocated to the Kusumkumari Puja mandap in Jamalkhan, organised by the CCC Puja Celebration Council.
In addition, Tk200,000 has been allocated to the Harijan community living in four Sebak Colonies managed by the city corporation, with each colony receiving Tk50,000.
Speaking at the event, Mayor Sahadat Hossain said the city corporation was working to build a safe, clean, green and liveable city for people of all faiths.
“Chattogram belongs to everyone. Ensuring the safety, religious freedom and civil rights of every citizen, regardless of religion or background, is our responsibility,” he said.
The mayor stressed that religious festivals strengthened communal harmony, goodwill and mutual cooperation. He said people of all faiths should be able to celebrate their religious festivals safely and without hindrance.
He also called for active public participation in the city’s development initiatives, saying that building a liveable urban environment required collective efforts beyond the city corporation’s own programmes.
Highlighting the corporation’s environmental initiatives, the mayor said measures such as planting trees on road medians and constructing bicycle tracks had been undertaken to make Chattogram cleaner, greener, healthier and safer.
He urged residents to protect public infrastructure and civic amenities, adding that maintaining a sustainable urban environment was a shared responsibility.
Among those present at the ceremony were CCC Acting Chief Executive Officer and Secretary Md Ashraful Amin, Theatre Institute Director Ovik Osman, Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad President Professor Arpan Banerjee, General Secretary Advocate Nikhil Kumar Nath, Vice-President Biplab Kumar Chowdhury, Finance Secretary Sukanta Mahajan Tutul, Priyotosh Ghosh Ratan and Ayan Dhar.
The presidents and general secretaries of the city’s 294 Puja mandaps, along with other leaders of the Puja Udjapan Parishad, also attended the event.
