5:00pm deadline stays for outdoor celebrations only

Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday slapped a ban on holding outdoor celebrations of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year, after 5:00pm on April 14.

"No cultural event or concert could be arranged at open places after 5:00pm on the day," DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah told a press briefing at its media centre.

He also requested the city dwellers to leave the capital's Ramna Park and Suhrawardy Udyan, the two places where people are expected to gather most in number, after the given time.

The commissioner, however, said people would be able to hold indoor programmes after the stipulated time.

He further said people would be prohibited from wearing masks, but they would hold those in hands while joining Mangal Shobhajatra, brought out by the students and teachers of the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University.

Specialised SWAT team would provide security to the Mangal Shobhajatra, while women police would be deployed to provide security to females, said the DMP chief.

He said they discussed the celebration and their security measures with different stakeholders, including cultural organisations.

Golam Kuddus, president of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, an alliance of cultural organisations, said they requested the DMP formally to extend time for arranging events at Rabindra Sarobar until evening on April 14, but were yet to get any reply.

Commissioner Asaduzzaman said security would be tightened from Ramna Park to Suhrawardy Udyan to DU.

The area would be under CCTV surveillance, while police would monitor the celebration from three control rooms. There would be nine watchtowers, he said. The gates of the Udyan and entry to the DU campus would be restricted and closed after a certain time as people would have to use separate gates for entry and exit, he said.

Vehicles without DU stickers would not be allowed to enter the campus from 6:00pm on April 13 to 9:00pm the next day, he added.

Roads in the area will be off limits for traffic as people have to use diverted routes from 5:00am to 5:00pm on April 14, he further added.

"We have taken the security measures so that people can celebrate the day amid festivity and they do not have to put themselves at risk," he said.

The decision came against the backdrop of several women being sexually harassed by a gang of molesters near TSC of the DU campus during Pahela Baishakh celebrations last year.

Police had been accused of letting some of the molesters go when people caught and handed them over to the on-duty police.

Asked, the commissioner said they would ensure maximum measures this year to avert any repeat of such incident.

"Investigation [into the sexual assault incident] is going on. We have detected several persons through scrutinising [CC] television footage but could not reveal their identities," he said.

Replying to a query, the DMP commissioner said there is no certain threat from any quarters centring the celebration this year.

Answering on Olama League demand for banning Pahela Baishakh celebration, the DMP chief said "a vested quarter has been trying to tarnish Bengali culture for long".

"We will remain alert so that it [the demand] cannot confuse people and make the security measure hazardous," he said.