Kishoreganj: The historic Sholakia Eidgah of the district hosted the country’s biggest congregation of Eid-ul-Azha on Friday.

Over 1 lakh devotees joined the 188th congregation of Eid-ul-Azha despite the muddy venue due to incessant rain for the last few days, said deputy commissioner GSM Zafarullah, also president of Sholakia Eidgah executive committee.

Khatib of Baro Bazar Shamsuddin Mosque Maulana Zillur Rahman conducted the Eid Jamaat held at 9:00am.  

A munajat was held after the Eid congregation seeking divine peace for the mankind, country’s progress and the unity of the Muslim ummah.

The devotees also prayed for salvation of the departed souls of those killed in a stampede in Mina of Makkah on Thursday while performing hajj.

The venue and its adjoining areas reverberated with the word ‘Ameen’ uttered by the devotees raising their hands in supplication.

The first Eid congregation on this ground was held in 1828 when a local Dewan, Sayeed Ahmed (R) of Haibatnagar Dewan Bari of the town, conducted Eid Jamaat on one of the fields of his own ‘Taluk’ (revenue zone). This later became known in history as the Sholakia Eidgah.

The name ‘Sholakia’ comes from Shoa Lakh, meaning ‘one lakh twenty-five thousand’ being the number of people that had come to offer their Eid prayers at the Eidgah.

The surrounding area was also named Sholakia afterwards. Later, another Dewan, Mannan Dad Khan, gave 4.35 acres of land for the Eidgah in 1950. However, according to sources, the Sholakia Eidgah now has about 7 acres of land.

The Eidgah stands on the bank of the Narosunda River and is known throughout the continent for the large number of devotees who come here every year for saying their Eid prayers.

But over 3 lakh devotees offer Eid-ul-Fitr prayers here using the nearby roads, open spaces and courtyards of surrounding houses.

However, the number of devotees in the Eid-ul-Azha congregation decreases by almost 50 percent.

Sholakia Eidgah has an executive committee of 51 members with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) being its ex-officio president.