Eid ul-Fitr, the biggest festival of Muslims, will be celebrated on Friday as the Shawwal crescent was not sighted anywhere in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
So Ramadan will last for 30 days in Bangladesh, announced the National Moon Sighting Committee after its meeting with state minister for religious affairs Faridul Haque Khan in the chair at the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh on Wednesday evening.
“Eid will be celebrated on Friday as Shawwal moon was sighted nowhere in Bangladesh’s 64 districts,” said the state minister.
UNB adds: Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated amid a global pandemic like the previous year after a month of fasting.
The religious affairs ministry has urged devotees to attend Eid congregations at their nearest mosques instead of Eidgah and open spaces, maintaining recommended health guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It also suggested disinfecting mosques before the Eid congregation and not rolling out carpets on the floors.
The devotees have been asked to bring prayer mats from home.
The devotees must wear masks inside mosques and avoid using prayer mats and caps that were stored earlier there.
Children, elderly people, people with a physical ailment, and those involved in taking care of the sick will not be allowed to attend the Eid prayer.
Besides, the devotees were requested to shun handshaking and hugging after the prayer which has been a common practice during Eid throughout the world.
The ministry asked imams and managing committees of mosques to ensure proper implementation of the directives.
There will be five Eid congregations at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque on the day.
The first Eid jamaat will be held at 7:00am while the next four will be administered at 8:00am, 9:00am, 10:00am, and 10:45am respectively.
However, amid the risk of virus infection, thousands of people have already left the capital to celebrate the very auspicious occasion with their near and dear ones at their respective village homes.
Television channels and radio stations will telecast special programmes on the occasion of Eid.
