Over 200,000 Ansar Members to Secure 32,000 Puja Mandaps Nationwide

Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud, Director General (DG) of the Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP), announced that 212,192 trained Ansar members will be deployed across 32,666 Puja mandaps nationwide to ensure security during the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations.

The deployment will take place for eight days, from Tuesday, October 6, until October 13, to safeguard the festival. Major General Mahmud made this announcement during a press briefing held at the Ansar and VDP headquarters in Khilgaon, Dhaka, on Saturday afternoon.

He explained that the Ansar members would be allocated based on security risk assessments, which categorized Puja mandaps as 'highly important,' 'important,' or 'general.' To address these varying levels of risk, eight Ansar members will be stationed at highly important mandaps, six at important mandaps, and six at general mandaps. Additionally, a total of 53,148 Ansar members will be deployed at 15,032 mandaps deemed highly important and important during the peak days of the festival on Sunday and Monday.

For the first time, Ansar will also serve as a striking force, ready to respond to any security concerns that may arise during the festival. In all 64 districts, 92 mobile striking force teams, each consisting of six members, will be on standby to address emergencies.

The DG also emphasized the Ministry of Home Affairs' directive that all Puja mandaps install CCTV cameras to enhance security measures. However, field investigations revealed that many mandaps have yet to comply with this requirement.

Major General Mahmud expressed the importance of these enhanced security measures in ensuring a peaceful and joyous celebration of Durga Puja across the country.