PM Tarique Increases Grants for Durga Puja and Kathin Chibar Dan
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has increased this year’s government allocations for Durga Puja and Kathin Chibar Dan to Tk 5 crore and Tk 3 crore respectively, giving both religious welfare trusts Tk 1 crore more than they had requested.
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In a Nutshell
- Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has allocated Tk 8 crore in total for this year’s Durga Puja and Kathin Chibar Dan festivals.
- The Hindu Religious Welfare Trust received Tk 5 crore for Durga Puja, while the Buddhist Religious Welfare Trust received Tk 3 crore for Kathin Chibar Dan.
- The trusts had requested Tk 4 crore and Tk 2 crore respectively, with Tarique increasing both allocations by Tk 1 crore.
- The funds will be distributed through the two religious welfare trusts and district administrations, with beneficiaries receiving the money through their bank accounts.
- The government has also extended the Durga Puja holiday to five days, with October 20 to 22 declared holidays, along with the October 23 and 24 weekend.
- Tarique told representatives of the Hindu and Buddhist communities that religion, caste and identity should not stand in the way of citizens’ rights and opportunities.
Context
The allocations are part of an existing system of state support rather than a new government initiative. The Hindu Religious Welfare Trust receives an annual government allocation for Durga Puja, while the Buddhist community has also received government funding for its religious festivals. The Durga Puja allocation was Tk 4 crore in 2024 and Tk 5 crore in 2025, while the Buddhist allocation for Prabarana Purnima and Kathin Chibar Dan was Tk 2 crore last year.
What is different this year is that PM Tarique has increased both trusts’ requests by Tk 1 crore, approving Tk 5 crore for Durga Puja and Tk 3 crore for Kathin Chibar Dan. The decision also comes alongside a five-day holiday for Durga Puja, extending government support beyond the festival grant itself.
Why It Matters
Government funding for religious festivals provides communities with an established avenue to seek state support for their religious observances. This year’s decision to go beyond the amounts requested by both trusts shows the government using that mechanism to respond to the communities’ needs rather than simply maintaining the existing level of support.
The extended Puja holiday is another way the government is considering the needs of those practising and celebrating the festival, giving them more time to observe the occasion. Together with the increased grants, it shows the government responding to religious communities through both financial support and practical arrangements around their festivals.
What We Think
This is a promising step by the government to provide greater support to festivals that have historically received less attention in a predominantly Muslim country, where Muslim festivals always receive priority. Increasing the allocations while also extending the Puja holiday signals a stronger effort to ensure other religious communities can celebrate their major festivals with comparable state support.