Prime Minister Tarique Rahman Tours Three Divisions for Durga Puja: Floral Welcome in Saidpur, Day-Long Programmes in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Chattogram

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has set out on a tour of Rangpur, Rajshahi and Chattogram to visit Durga Puja pavilions and attend political programmes for Sharadiya Durga Puja. The day-long tour, which began on Tuesday morning, includes temple visits, greetings exchanges in three divisional cities and an address to a public rally in Rajshahi. Coming at the start of a five-day government holiday for Puja, the prime minister's tour has drawn attention across the country.

The prime minister arrived at Saidpur airport in Nilphamari by air from Tejgaon airport at 9:50am on Tuesday. After landing, local political leaders and activists and the administration gave him a floral reception. BNP leaders and activists standing on the road in Saidpur greeted the prime minister with flowers.

Later, as he set off by road for Rangpur, he waved back in response to the greetings of leaders, activists and ordinary people waiting on both sides of the road. Travelling by bus from the airport, he waved to people standing along the road at various points in Saidpur — the most talked-about image of the morning leg of the tour.

Under the announced itinerary, the prime minister will visit Rangpur's local Dharmasabha, the Radha Gobinda temple. Visiting this traditional temple's Puja pavilion and exchanging greetings for Sharadiya Durga Puja is the central programme of the Rangpur leg. After the formalities there, he will return to Saidpur airport and fly to Rajshahi.

The prime minister is due to land at Hazrat Shah Makhdum airport in Rajshahi at around 1:30pm. From there he will go to visit the local Dharmasabha temple. Touring the Puja pavilion and exchanging greetings forms the first part of the Rajshahi visit.

After a brief rest at Rajshahi Circuit House, he will address a public rally at the city's historic Madrasa field at 3pm. The rally is the only major political programme of the day's tour, and preparations have been made for a large gathering of local leaders, activists and ordinary people. Attention will be on what political message accompanies his Puja greetings.

After completing the Rajshahi programmes, he will fly to Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram. In the evening, the prime minister will visit the traditional JM Sen Hall Puja pavilion at Rahmatganj in the port city. Observers see visits to three traditional pavilions in three divisions as carrying a message of harmony as the tour's central theme.

After a short break at Chattogram Circuit House, he is due to return to Dhaka by air at night. In other words, the prime minister will complete a long three-division tour in a single day, combining air and road travel.

The timing of the tour is also significant. A five-day government holiday for Sharadiya Durga Puja has begun today; banks across the country are also reported to be closed for five straight days for the same reason. In the festive holiday atmosphere, the prime minister's temple-to-temple visits alongside a public rally make the day lively both politically and socially.

From the floral reception at Saidpur airport to waving greetings on the road to Rangpur, the morning leg stood out for direct contact with ordinary people. Alongside leaders and activists, ordinary people also crowded the airport area and both sides of the road to catch a glimpse of the prime minister and greet him.

Extensive local preparations have been made for the Rajshahi Madrasa field rally. While the temple visits in Rangpur and Chattogram are festival and harmony programmes, the Rajshahi rally is the political centre of the day. The same tour therefore carries both festival greetings and a political message to three corners of the country at once.

At day's end, attention will rest on two things — whether the evening visit to JM Sen Hall in Chattogram concludes smoothly, and what message the prime minister delivers at the Rajshahi rally. The busy state tour on the first day of the Puja holiday will end with his return to Dhaka at night.