Kishoreganj, Oct 26 (bdnews24.com) – In keeping with the tradition, the largest Eid-ul-Azha congregation in the country will be held on Satarday in the Sholakia Eidgah ground in Kishoreganj.
The Eidgah Committee has said they have finished all arrangements for the congregation scheduled to be held at 9am.
The prayers will be led by Maulana Farid Uddin Masud.
Sholakia Eidgah Committee President and Kishoreganj Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Siddiqur Rahma told bdnews24.com that this year’s Eid gathering in the historic ground would be the 185th congregation.
“The sprawling seven-acre Sholakia Maidan has been prepared for the Eid prayers,” he added.
The government has arranged two Sholakia Special trains only for the Muslims coming from long distances to attend the prayers.
Kishoreganj Rail Station Master Jayanta Sarker said one of the trains would start from Mymensingh at 5am on Monday for Sholakia while the other one would leave Bhairab at 6am.
The huge ground on the bank of the Narosunda River, originally donated by Dewan Hazrat Khan Bahadur, the sixth descendent of Isha Khan, the ruler of Bengal of the Baro-Bhuiyan stock, has been colourfully decorated for Monday’s Eid-ul-Azha congregation.
The first Eid assembly in Sholakia was held in 1828 where 125,000 devotees were said to have said their prayers. The name Sholakia has been reportedly derived from the first gathering which in Bengali sounds like ‘shoa-lakhia’ or one-and-a-quarter lakhs.
There are about 265 rows, each of which can accommodate 500 devotees at the Eidgah, thus the entire ground accommodating some 132,500 devotees.
But over 300,000 devotees say their prayers here, including those standing in the nearby streets, open spaces and courtyards of surrounding houses.
Source: bdnews24
