No Durga Puja at 18 Lalmonirhat temples

Mogholhat union Puja Udjapan Parishad in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila has decided not to celebrate the Durga Puja at 18 temples in the union this year, protesting grabbing of a temple’s land by an influential Awami League man.

They took the decision at Kurul Kalibari Sree Sree Durga Mandir on September 13 and submitted copies of the minutes of the meeting to Lalmonirhat Deputy Commissioner and other authorities concerned.

Earlier, a group led by one Nahiduzzaman Nayon, 38, grabbed 11 out of 35 decimals of land of Mogholhat Haribasar Durga Mandir on May 25 in 2015.

Later, the temple management committee filed a case with a Lalmonirhat court in this regard, which is still under trial.

Meanwhile, the group grabbed another decimal of the temple land on September 10 and threatened the committee members of grabbing the entire property.

General Secretary of Haribasar Durga Mandir Proshanto Sen said, “We submitted several appeals to the authorities concerned for taking necessary steps but nothing happened due to unknown reason.”

Temple Committee President Arjun Chandra Dasgupta, also president of Mogholhat union unit of Chhatra League, said Nayon joined AL politics from BNP only a year ago in a bid to consolidate his possession of the grabbed land.

When asked, Nayon, who does not hold any post in the party, declined to make any comment to the journalists in this regard yesterday.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Rezaul Alam Sarker said he is communicating with union, upazila and district level Puja Udjapan Parishad leaders to resolve the matter.

Source: The Daily Star