Bandarban, Oct 22 (V7N) – A week-long series of programs has begun in Bandarban on the occasion of Maha Wagyoai Poye or Prabarana Purnima, one of the major religious festivals of the Buddhist community.
The celebrations feature various religious programs alongside a handball tournament, a marathon race, the Mangal Rath Yatra (chariot procession), flying sky lanterns (fanush) and a pitha-making festival.
The programs were announced at a press conference held this morning at the Bandarban Press Club by Chonu Mong Marma, president of the festival celebration committee. Chonu said religious and social programs will be observed across Bandarban from October 21 to 27. The events have been organized to make the festival vibrant and to strengthen communal harmony, he added.
Chonu Mong Marma said the handball tournament was inaugurated on Wednesday, October 21, marking the start of the Prabarana Purnima celebrations. The final of the tournament will be held on October 24. A marathon race will be held from Kamalong to the Old Rajbari ground in the early hours of October 25.
The Mangal Rath Yatra will begin from the Old Rajbari premises on October 26. The procession will circle the main roads of the town and end at Ujanipara Ghat, where the chariot will be consigned to the Sangu River, concluding the program.
On the final day of the festival, October 27, mangal pradip (auspicious lamps) will be lit and sky lanterns will be flown in honor of Chulamani Jadi at the Rajguru Buddhist Vihar premises. A ward-based pitha-making festival will also be held the same day with the participation of different wards.
