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Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla new year, is being celebrated across the country amid traditional festivities and enthusiasm, reports UNB.
The festivities began at dawn with the artistes from Chhayanaut welcoming the day with Tagore's famous song 'Esho hey Baishakh, esho, esho (come O Baishakh, come)' at the Ramna Park.
People from all walks of life thronged to different popular and historic spots in the capital and elsewhere across the country to welcome the Bangla New Year 1426 with new hopes and aspirations for a better, peaceful year.
The celebrations of Pahela Baishakh have become an integral part of Bangalees since it began over six centuries back.
Mughal Emperor Akbar introduced the Bangla calendar in 1556 of the Gregorian calendar in a bid to streamline the timing of land tax collection in the then 'Subah Bangla' region, the much of which falls under Bangladesh.
The day is a public holiday.
On the occasion, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate massages greeting country's people and all Bangla-speaking people across the globe.
Traders and shopkeepers across the country opened 'Halkhata' (new book of accounts) and entertained customers and visitors with sweets on the first day of the New Year as part of the tradition and culture.
According to bdnews24.com, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has ruled out any security threat surrounding the celebrations of Pahela Baishakh.