Dhaka - Police and other security forces were placed on
a state of high alert in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Tuesday
ahead of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslim and Hindu
communities, law enforcement officials said.
A high level meeting of security officials also decided to install
close circuit cameras and set up a police control room inside the
Dhakeshwari national temple which is the main venue of the
Durga Puja festival which celebrates the Hindu Goddess Durga.
'We are taking all steps necessary to ensure maximum security
to the religious devotees gathering at the temple,' said the
capital's police commissioner Naim Ahmed.
At an overnight meeting with Hindu leaders the Dhaka police
chief also assured the security of 165 temporary temples for
the Hindu Goddess Durga spread across the capital for the
worshippers.
The annual Hindu celebrations this year are closely followed by
the three-day Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of the
fasting month of Ramadan, of the majority Bangladeshi Muslims which
begins September 30.
More than 5,000 extra security personnel are to be deployed during
the festivals of the two communities.
Home Ministry sources said the additional security alert was
needed because of the latest bomb attacks by suspected Islamic
terror groups on high profile targets in South Asian countries
causing deaths and destruction.
Tens of thousands of Dhaka residents are expected to leave
the overcrowded capital and head for their rural homes for the
extended holidays.
Police said they would station plainclothes police at crowded
ferry and bus terminals.
More than 80 per cent of the 140 million Bangladeshis are
Muslims while the remaining are Hindus, Buddhists, Christians
and animists.
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