Eid-ul-Azha
Several villages celebrate Eid in line with Saudi Arabia
In keeping with Saudi Arabia, residents of a number of villages in Satkhira, Barisal and Panchagarh are celebrating Eid-ul-Azha on Tuesday, the second largest festival of the Muslims.
Saudi Arabia and a number of countries across the world are celebrating the festival of sacrifice on Tuesday. But Bangladesh is scheduled to celebrate Eid on Wednesday.
In Satkhira, hundreds of people at seven places in the district, including Baukhola of Satkhira district, Upalor Islamkathi of Tala upazila, and Kashimari of Shyamnagar upazila have started the Eid celebrations.
Read: Five Eid jamaats to be held at National Mosque
The main congregation was held at Satkhira Sadar's Bhar-Khali market at 8am.
Imam Md Mahbubur Rahman conducted the congregation with a small number of Muslim devotees.
Imam Mahbubur said that all Muslims in the world should perform Eid prayers in line with Saudi Arabia. The devotees offered sacrifices of cattle after the prayers.
In Barisal, the holy Eid-ul-Azha is being celebrated in advance in some villages of six upazilas of the district.
Around 10,000 devotees of Babuganj, Hijla, Mehendiganj, Muladi, Bakerganj, Sadar upazila and metropolis of Barisal offered Eid prayers in the congregations from 8 am to 10 am on Tuesday.
Amir Hossain Mithu, president of Haji Bari Jame Mosque in the Tajkathi area of the city, said they offered their Eid jamaat following the government's directives and maintaining all Covid-safety protocols.
Read:Govt fixes rawhide prices ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
Meanwhile, in Panchagarh, seven devotees of four families gathered for Eid congregation under police protection as a clash broke out over celebrating Eid a day ahead.
This year, the local authorities in consultation with public representatives and local dignitaries will take a decision whether Eid prayers would be held at mosques, Eidgahs or open fields considering the Covid situation in their respective areas.
The Religious Affairs Ministry issued some guidelines on offering Eid-ul-Azha prayers.
As per the guidelines, no carpets will be allowed at mosques that will be disinfected before prayers. The devotees have been asked to bring prayer mats from home.
Soaps, hand sanitizers and water should be made available at the place where people make Wadu or at the entrances of mosques or Eidgahs.
Read:Gazipur gridlocked amid pandemic as hundreds head home for Eid
Devotees should maintain social distance following health guidelines. Children, the elderly, disabled people and those involved in taking care of patients will not be allowed to attend Eid prayers.
All have to abide by the directives of the Health Service Division, local administration and law enforcement agencies.
The Religious Affairs Ministry have already urged Imams and managing committees of mosques to ensure proper implementation of the directives.
Will fight and win, Hasina on war against Covid
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that Bangladesh is firm in its resolve to fight and win the war against Covid-19.
"We have been fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic for more than one year now. We have lost many close ones in this fight. But we have to attain victory in this fight and we will win, Inshallah,” she said on Tuesday.
Read:Working to build a service-oriented administration: PM Hasina
Hasina again urged all the countrymen to strictly follow all the Covid-safety protocols like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing in the fight against coronavirus.
The Prime Minister said these while extending her greetings to the people of the country on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha, the biggest festival of the Muslims, to be celebrated on Wednesday.
Read:Help achieve green recovery of CVF-V20 countries: Hasina to developed nations
In a video message broadcast on Bangladesh TV and other media outlets this morning, Hasina also urged all to work for the welfare of the country and its people imbued with the spirit of sacrifice taught through Qurbani.
The Prime Minister extended Eid greetings to all the citizens of Bangladesh at home and abroad, and prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed souls who lost their lives to Covid.
Online sale of sacrificial animals soars amid Covid restrictions
With the raging pandemic keeping many away from crowded cattle markets, the online sale of sacrificial animals has gained momentum across the country ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
The digital platforms have reported a sale of nearly three lakh cattle until Saturday, three days ahead of the festival, surpassing last year’s sale of 87,000 animals.
Read:Online sales of sacrificial animals could touch 7 lakh this Eid: Tipu
Some 289,819 animals have already been sold online worth Tk 2,142.55 crore, according to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) on Saturday.
Among the animals, 223,349 were cows or buffalos, while the rest 66,470 were goats and sheep, which were sold through online platforms including social media pages.
The highest 143,416 animals– 118,499 cows or buffaloes and 24,917 goats or sheep— were sold in the Chattogram Division.
Besides, 40,506 cattle (cows, buffalos, goats or sheep) were sold in Dhaka Division, while 41,281 in Rajshahi Division, 41,176 in Rangpur Division, 16,303 in Khulna Division, 2,270 in Barishal Division, 3,263 in Sylhet Division and 1,604 in Mymensingh Division.
More than 17 lakh cattle –-1,403,357 cows and buffalos and 307,360 goats and sheep have so far been uploaded online for the sale.
“The online sale of cattle is getting good response this year,” said DLS Director (Extension) Dr Debashis Das.
He said the DLS aims to upload some 20pc-25-pc cattle online for sale this year.
Read:27,000 sacrificial animals sold online ahead of Eid
Trade through Hili land port to remain suspended for 6 days
Export-import activities between Bangladesh and India through the Hili land port will remain suspended for six days from Monday on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims.
Read:No trade activities at Panchagarh border from July 12-30
Abdur Rahman Liton, general secretary of Hili land port C&F Agents association, said the authorities concerned of the port, export-import groups and C&F Agents association took the decision after a joint meeting in this regard, he said.
“All activities of the port will resume from July 25,” he added.
With pandemic in mind, pared-back hajj in Mecca for 2nd year
Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims circled Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Sunday, but remained socially distanced and wore masks as the coronavirus takes its toll on the hajj for a second year running.
The hajj pilgrimage, which once drew some 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life from across the globe, is now almost unrecognizable. It is being scaled back for the second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The pared-down hajj prevents Muslims from outside Saudi Arabia from fulfilling an Islamic obligation and causes financial losses to Saudi Arabia which in pre-pandemic years took in billions of dollars as the custodian of the holy sites.
The Islamic pilgrimage lasts about five days, but traditionally Muslims begin arriving in Mecca weeks ahead of time. The hajj concludes with the Eid al-Adha celebration, marked by the distribution of meat to the poor around the world.
Read:Grand Mosque in Macca receives 1st batch of pilgrims as Hajj begins
This year, 60,000 vaccinated Saudi citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia have been allowed to perform the hajj due to continued concerns around the spread of the coronavirus. L ast year’s largely symbolic hajj saw fewer than 1,000 people from within the kingdom taking part.
It’s unclear when Saudi Arabia will play host again to millions of Muslims. The kingdom has no clear standard for a vaccine passport, vaccination rates are uneven in different countries and new variants of the virus are threatening the progress already made in some nations.
The kingdom’s Al Saud rulers have staked their legitimacy in large part on their custodianship of hajj sites, giving them a unique and powerful platform among Muslims around the world. The kingdom has gone to great lengths to ensure the annual hajj continues uninterrupted, despite changes caused by the pandemic.
Robots have been deployed to spray disinfectant around the cube-shaped Kaaba’s busiest walkways. The Kaaba is where the hajj pilgrimage begins and ends for most.
Saudi Arabia is also testing a smart bracelet this year in collaboration with the government’s artificial intelligence authority. The touchscreen bracelet resembles the Apple Watch and includes information on the hajj, a pilgrim’s oxygen levels and vaccine data and has an emergency feature to call for help.
Read: 2021 Hajj: Registrations limited to Saudi citizens, residents
International media outlets already present in the kingdom were permitted to cover the hajj from Mecca this year, but others were not granted permission to fly in as had been customary before the pandemic.
Cleaners are sanitizing the vast white marble spaces of the Grand Mosque that houses the Kaaba several times a day.
“We are sanitizing the floor and using disinfection liquids while cleaning it two or three times during (each) shift,” said Olis Gul, a cleaner who said he has been working in Mecca for 20 years.
The hajj is one of Islam’s most important requirements to be performed once in a lifetime. It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.
The hajj is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and bring about greater unity among Muslims. The communal feeling of more than 2 million people from around the world — Shiite, Sunni and other Muslim sects — praying together, eating together and repenting together has long been part of what makes hajj both a challenging and a transformative experience.
There are questions around whether the hajj will be able to again draw such large numbers of faithful, with male pilgrims forming a sea of white in white terrycloth garments worn to symbolize the equality of mankind before God and women forgoing makeup and perfume to focus inwardly.
Read:Hajj pre-registration to continue throughout this year
Like last year, pilgrims will be drinking water from the holy Zamzam well in plastic bottles. They were given umrbellas to shield them from the sun. They have to carry their own prayer rugs and follow a strict schedule via a mobile app that informs them when they can be in certain areas to avoid crowding.
“I hope this is a successful hajj season,” said Egyptian pilgrim Aly Aboulnaga, a university lecturer in Saudi Arabia. “We ask God to accept everyone’s hajj and for the area to be open to greater numbers of pilgrims and for a return to an even better situation than before.”
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the kingdom was working to vastly expand Mecca’s ability to host pilgrims with a $60-billion Grand Mosque expansion. On the mosque’s south side stands the 1,972-foot (600-meter) clock-tower skyscraper, part of a completed seven-tower complex that was built to accommodate wealthier pilgrims.
The kingdom, with a population of more than 30 million, has reported over half a million cases of the coronavirus, including more than 8,000 deaths. It has administered nearly 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, according to the World Health Organization.
Eid-ul-Azha: People crowding Shimulia ferry terminal to go home
With only two days left for Eid ul Azha, homebound people started leaving the capital for home overcrowding Shimulia ferry terminal on Sunday to cross the River Padma ignoring the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
Currently, 15 of the 19 ferries and 84 launches, out of 87, are moving on this route.
All the ferries are not operating due to strong current in the river while authorities did not allow the operation of three launches for not having their updated documents, said the terminal authorities.
Also read: Ferry services only for ambulances, goods-laden vehicles
Being unable to control the unusual pressure of vehicles and passengers, authorities brought two more ferries – ‘Kakoli’ and ‘Kolmilata’ from Chandpur to deal with the pressure but the queues of stranded trucks and other vehicles are getting longer and longer.
Five Eid jamaats to be held at National Mosque
Five Eid jamaats will be held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque from 7 am on the day of Eid-ul-Azha.
Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh revealed the schedule in a press release on Sunday.
Read: Local administration to take decision on Eid prayer: Govt
The first Eid jamaat will be held at 7am and the next at 8am,9am, 10 am and 10:45 am.
Eid-ul-Azha, the 2nd largest religious festival of the Muslims, will be celebrated in Bangladesh on July 21.
This year local administrations in consultation with public representatives and local dignitaries will take decision whether Eid prayers would be held at mosques, Eidghs or open fields considering the Covid situation in their respective areas and maintaining recommended health guidelines.
The Religious Affairs Ministry issued some guidelines on offering Eid-ul-Azha prayer on Tuesday.
As per the guidelines, no carpet will be allowed at mosques and mosques will be disinfected before prayers.
The devotees have been asked to bring prayer mats from home.
Read:Covid lockdown: Govt issues mandatory guidelines for offering prayers at mosques
The devotees must wear masks inside mosques and avoid using prayer mats and caps that were stored earlier there.
It also suggested devotees to go to mosques with wadu and wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap.
Soaps, hand sanitizers and water should be available at the place where people make Wadu or at the entrance of mosques or Eidgahs.
Devotees should maintain social distance following health guidelines.
Children, elderly people, people with physical ailment, and those involved in taking care of patients will not be allowed to attend Eid prayer.
All have to abide by the directives of the Health Service Division, local administration and law enforcement agencies.
Read: Bangladesh eases lockdown restrictions ahead of Eid
Besides, the devotees were requested to shun handshaking and hugging after the Eid prayer which has been a common practice throughout the world.
The Religious Affairs Ministry urged Imams and managing committees of mosques to ensure proper implementation of the directives.
Walton brings 27 new fridges ahead of Eid
Walton has brought 27 new models of fridges and over 50 with updated features ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
These new models have some unique features like longer enduring cooling system, rat preventive compressor back cover, low noise level, anti-fungal door gasket, supercooling, intelligent control system (ICS), intelligent inverter technology (IIT) and IoT, Walton Refrigerator Chief of Business Anisur Rahman Mallick said.
Read: Walton brings new smart fridge with IoT, AI functionalities
Under its ongoing nationwide "Digital Campaign Season 11," Walton's refrigerator department announced the "Eid Mega Festival" offer.
The company is running Digital Campaign Season 11 across the country to bring after-sales service under online automation.
Read: Tk 10,000 off on Walton smart fridge pre-book at DITF
For online orders, customers are enjoying cash on delivery and free home delivery service.
Also, Walton has launched a fridge exchange offer. Under the offer, customers can buy any model of Walton freezers at discounted prices in exchange for any brand's old active and non-performing fridges, read a press release.
Read Demands of Walton freezer go up for optimized insulation thickness
Lockdown lifting may make country a deathtrap: BNP
Opposing the lifting of lockdown ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, BNP on Friday feared that it will help spread the Covid transmission across the country, turning the country into a deathtrap.
"The government has lifted the lockdown in an unplanned way on the occasion of Eid allowing people to go home. People will go home and again come back to Dhaka from villages and thus the virus will spread all over the country,” said party standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.
Speaking at a virtual press conference, on behalf of BNP’s corona infection monitoring committee, he also said the Delta variant is very dangerous as it is 70 percent more contagious than other variants.
READ: BNP demands law to ensure proper compensation for factory accidents
“So we’re worried that the measures the government has taken only to help spread corona across the country and it may turn into a death valley in the end,” the BNP leader observed.
He alleged that corona-infected people in rural areas are not getting treatment, medicine and oxygen in district hospitals for lack of beds. “The health system across the country is now in a complete mess.”
Under the circumstances, the BNP leader said their party standing committee has decided to open corona help centres in the party’s offices in every district with the help of Ziaur Rahman Foundation and Doctors' Association of Bangladesh (DAB).
He said they have so far opened corona help centre in 53 districts. “As the largest political party in the country, we will stand by people at this bad time.”
He said their party’s help centre will give people an ambulance service and reach oxygen cylinders to their homes alongside providing people treatment and medicines through different apps.
Tuku said their party proposed the government to make the lockdown a success by giving the poor, the marginalised and unemployed people giving Tk 15,000 as cash support for three months.
“But the government did not do that. They announced incentives, but we don't know to whom they are giving the money. If you go to slums and ask them whether they’ve received the money, you'll get the right answer,” the BNP leader said.
READ: Quader urges BNP to stop spreading lies about Covid vaccine
Tuku alleged that police shut their party’s help centre in Barguna district on Thursday, saying BNP's help service is not needed. "We would like to urge the government you please allow us to stand by people and help them.”
Govt fixes rawhide prices ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
The government has fixed the prices of raw cowhide ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha at Tk 40-45 per square foot in the capital and Tk 33-37 outside of it.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi announced the prices after a virtual meeting held at the Ministry on Thursday.
Read:Zilhajj moon sighted; Eid-ul-Azha on July 21
Besides, the minister said, the prices of goatskins have been fixed at Tk 15-17 per square foot across the country while that of she-goat at Tk 12-14 against the previous year’s prices of Tk 13-15 and Tk 10-12 respectively.
“Last year, we saw a very good export trade, and we’ve to move on ensuring the fare prices of rawhide. We’ve given the approval to export rawhide which is not good for us. This year, we’ve fixed the rawhide prices after holding a meeting with all stakeholders,” he said.
Read:Digital Haat and more Qurbani Cow online shops targeting Eid-ul-Azha in Bangladesh
Munshi urged all concerned to apply salt on animal hides soon after their sacrifices.