Bangla noboborsho

Nation celebrates Pahela Baishakh today under tight security

Businessmen open new Halkhata as Bangla New Year starts. The snap was taken from Babubazar in city on Monday. Photo: Focus Bangla

Thousands of people in Dhaka gather at Ramna Batamul, the main venue of the celebrations, at sunrise as Chhayanaut, which has been observing the day since 1965, ushers in the New Year with the song of Rabindranath Tagore sung by its students. People in small groups will then head for other places of celebrations such as the Institute of Fine Art at Dhaka University, from where a "mangal shobhajatra" or a procession seeking wellbeing for all, with marchers in masks and traditional dresses, will walk down the campus roads.

People will also move about the Teacher-Student Centre and Nat Mandal at Dhaka University, Suhrawardy Udyan, Shishu Academy, Central Shaheed Minar, Rabindra Sarobar at Dhanmondi and other parks and public places of baishakhi mela, or traditional fairs. The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh and in West Bengal.

The government has taken up extensive security measures for the Pahela Baishakh celebrations, with the deployment of 25,000 law enforcement personnel across the country; 10,000 of them will be deployed in the capital city. Besides, there will be a restriction on plying all sorts of vehicles in and around the Dhaka University and its nearby areas.