For the first time since 1990—after more than three and a half decades—the President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh will offer Eid prayers together at the National Eidgah ground.

The presence of a male prime minister, after a long period, has added a distinct dimension to this year’s Eid congregation.

To make this special moment memorable and to ensure the comfort of thousands of worshippers, the National Eidgah ground has been prepared at an estimated cost of around Tk 10.7 million.

The massive preparation was carried out over 28 days under the supervision of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

This year, the Eid congregation will be led by Mufti Abdul Malek, khatib of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. The congregation will be attended by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, members of the cabinet, diplomats, and senior government officials.

According to DSCC’s engineering department, preparing the field this year has cost approximately Tk 10.7 million. The task was assigned to a contractor named PR Enterprise.

Officials said preparing the nearly 300,000-square-metre ground was a massive undertaking.