The traditional Ras Festival of the Sanatan community will begin in two days at Alorkol in Dubalar Char area in Sarankhola upazila of Bagerhat district. The festival will start on November 14 and will continue for three days. On November 16, the festival will conclude with taking holy bath in the sea at dawn.
The president of the Dubla Ras Festival Celebration Committee and the president of the Dubla Fishermen's Group, Freedom Fighter Md Kamal Uddin Ahmed, said that this year's Ras Festival, which has been celebrated by the Sanatan community on the shores of the Bay of Bengal for over a century, will begin on November 14 at Alorkole in Dubalarchar. The three-day festival will conclude at dawn on November 16, with pilgrims taking a holy bath in the sea during the first tide. For the occasion, a temporary temple has been constructed at Alorkole, and idols of Radha Krishna have been placed there for worship. Several thousand pilgrims from across the country and abroad, including from Chattogram, Dhaka, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Satkhira, and Khulna, will gather at Alorkole for the festival.
According to the sourcse from forest department, an inter-departmental meeting was held at the office of the Divisional Forest Officer of the Khulna Division to ensure the smooth and successful celebration of the Ras Festival at Alorkole. The meeting was chaired by the Chief Forest Officer (CFO) of the Khulna region, Mihir Kumar. During the meeting, five routes through the Sundarbans were designated for pilgrims to travel to Dubalar Char, and decisions were made about necessary security measures for the pilgrims. Only Sanatan community members will be allowed to attend the event.
Kazi Mohammad Nurul Karim, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Forest Division in Bagerhat, said that no one other than the Sanatan community members will be granted permits to attend the Ras Festival at Dubalarchar. Starting on the morning of November 14, pilgrims will be given passes from the relevant station office to attend the festival. To prevent poaching of wildlife, such as deer, and ensure security for the movement of visitors during the event, forest department, along with the RAB, Coast Guard, police, and Navy, will strengthen their patrolling.
