DHAKA: Muslims in Bangladesh are celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival, on Monday in a different way as the country along with the world has to follow the stay-at-home guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Eid holiday is usually a time of travel, family get-togethers and lavish daytime feasts after a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting. But this year many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims are praying at home and making due with video calls.

This year, Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated without any outdoor program and Eid congregations at Eidgah grounds across the country.

Covid-19 has already killed 480 people and infected over 33,610 people in Bangladesh. The ongoing pandemic has killed over 346,721 people globally until Monday.

The first jamaat was held at 7am at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. Hafez Mufti Mawlana Mizanur Rahman conducted the prayer.

No Eid jamaat (congregation) was held at the National Eidgah Maidan this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Like every year, a total of five Eid jamaats will be held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque one after another.

All prayers are being held following the health guidelines, issued earlier by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

On April 6, the government suspended prayers for the public at all places of worship and religious institutions across the country in a bid to stop further spread of the deadly virus.

Every year, the city corporations and district administrations organize central Eid prayers in all the districts of the country.

But this year, government authorities have not organizes Eid prayers on open grounds in a bid to fight Covid-19.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted the countrymen as well as the Muslim devotees on the occasion. They also issued separate messages praying for peace, progress and prosperity of the country and the Muslim Ummah.

BDST: 1049 HRS, MAY 25, 2020
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