The historic Sholakia Eidgah of the district hosted the country’s biggest congregation of Eid-ul-Fitr on Friday.
Over 2 lakh people from far and wide joined the 186th congregation of Eid-ul-Fitr at the historic Eidgah.
Chairman of Islahul Muslimeen Council and secretary general of Jamaat-e-Ulema Maulana Md Fariduddin Masud conducted the Eid Jamaat held at 10 am.
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB alongside police were deployed at the Eidgah and in its adjacent areas to maintain the law and order.
Besides, 10 observation towers and 20 closed-circuit televisions were there in place at the Eidgah.
The first Eid congregation on this ground was held in 1828 when a local Dewan, called Sayeed Ahmed (R) of Haibatnagar Dewan Bari of the town, conducted Eid Jamaat on one of the fields of his own ‘Taluk’ (revenue zone). This later became known in history as the Sholakia Eidgah.
The name ‘Sholakia’ comes from Shoa Lakh, meaning ‘one lakh twenty-five thousand’ being the number of people that had come to offer their Eid prayers at the Eidgah.
The surrounding area was also named Sholakia afterwards. Later, another Dewan, Mannan Dad Khan, gave 4.35 acres of land for the Eidgah in 1950. However, according to sources, the Sholakia Eidgah now has about 7 acres of land.
The Eidgah stands on the bank of the Narosunda River and is known throughout the continent for the large number of devotees who come here every year for saying their Eid prayers.
Source: UNB Connect