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Bangladesh Railway has allocated land for two mosques and one temple in Joar Sahara mouza of the capital.
Dhaka Divisional Railway Manager Md Mohiuddin Arif formally handed over the allocation letters to the management committees of the respective mosques and temple at a ceremony held at Rail Bhaban on Wednesday, UNB reports.
Under the allocation, Khilkhet Railway Jame Mosque received 0.2011 acres (8,760 sq ft) land, An-Noor Jame Mosque 0.0552 acres (2,405 sq ft), and Khilkhet Sarbajanin Sri Sri Durga Temple 0.0562 acres (2,450 sq ft). The lands were provided at the designated nominal symbolicprice set by Bangladesh Railway.
Adviser to the ministries of Road Transport and Bridges, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, and Railways Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan, Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain, Primary and Mass Education Advisor Dr Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Sheikh Moinuddin, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser Mohammad Shafiqul Alam, Secretary of the Ministry of Railways Md Fahimul Islam, Director General of Bangladesh Railway Md Afzal Hossain, Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance Secretary General Advocate Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, and local dignitaries were present.
Speaking on the occasion, Adviser Faozul Kabir said Bangladesh is a land of religious harmony, adding that anyone attempting to disrupt communal harmony will face strict legal action.
Religious Affairs Advisor Dr AFM Khalid Hossain described the land allocation as a unique example of communal harmony and called Bangladesh a role model of religious coexistence.
He also assured cooperation in recovering Hindu community’s lost debottar properties not under litigation.
The initiative of Bangladesh Railway was also lauded by the Primary and Mass Education Advisor. Following the handover ceremony, a press briefing was held where Chief Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam responded to questions from journalists.