Saraswati Puja, one of the major religious festivals of the Hindu community, is being celebrated today, Monday. Every year, this worship of the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati, takes place on the Shukla Paksha of the Bengali month of Magh. On this occasion, students will participate in various rituals, including prayers (Bani Archana), puja ceremonies at temples and educational institutions, distribution of prasad, religious discussions, cultural programs, and evening aarti. In some places, the festival was observed yesterday according to the traditional Hindu calendar. Puja mandaps have been set up in different halls of Dhaka University, including Jagannath Hall. At 11 AM, the National Hindu Student Grand Alliance will hold a discussion meeting. Meanwhile, the president and general secretary of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council have extended their greetings to the people of the country.

The first phase of the 58th World Ijtema is underway in Tongi, Gazipur, with hundreds of thousands of devotees gathering for prayers. To accommodate them, Bangladesh Railway has announced special ‘Jumu’ah Special’ trains on January 31. The first train will depart from Dhaka at 9:30 AM and reach Tongi at 10:15 AM. The return train will leave Tongi at 3:00 PM and arrive in Dhaka at 3:45 PM. The Ijtema will be held in two phases, with participants from different districts attending each.

The first phase of the 58th Bishwa Ijtema has started on the banks of the Turag River in Tongi, Gazipur. The event began after Maghrib prayers on January 30 with a sermon by Indian scholar Maulana Ibrahim Dewla. Hundreds of thousands of worshippers have gathered, with the grand Jummah prayer scheduled for January 31, led by Maulana Muhammad Zubair. The Ijtema will be held in two phases, with 41 districts participating in the first and 22 districts in the second. Strict security measures are in place.

The crescent moon of Shaban 1446 Hijri was not sighted in Bangladesh on January 30. As a result, the month of Shaban will begin on February 1, and Shab-e-Barat will be observed on the night of February 14. This decision was made during a meeting of the National Moon Sighting Committee at Baitul Mukarram Mosque. The committee reviewed reports from various authorities, confirming the absence of moon sightings. Hence, Rajab will complete 30 days, and Shaban will start accordingly.