City

[Watch] Experience Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir At This Puja Pandal In Bhubaneswar

By
Debadurllav Harichandan

Bhubaneswar: The replicas range from palaces and temples to museums and ghats. Durga Puja associations in Odisha’s capital have erected impressive facades this time to give visitors, who could not celebrate the festival in a grand way for two years because of COVID-19, a memorable experience this year.

Like the Rasulgarh Durga Puja Committee, which has modelled the façade of its pandal on a temple, the Saheed Nagar puja pandal also has a temple theme: an impressive replica of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The idol is 85-ft high and 120 ft in width. Put together by skilled craftsmen from Cuttack, the idol has silver decorations with a gold crown.

For the impressive puja pandal, much credit goes to Biswanath Ghose, who designed and oversaw its execution. Preparations started almost three months ago. Ghose, who has 32 years of experience making puja pandals across the country, also made a trip to Ayodhya to see the temple, which follows the Nagara style of architecture. Ghose then set down to work along with 50 craftsmen from Kolkata.

Speaking to Odisha Bytes, Saheed Nagar Durga Puja Committee president Sachinandan Nayak said, “Due to relaxation in COVID norms this year, we expect the celebrations to return to their splendid form this time. Visitors are requested to abide by the government’s COVID guidelines.”

“This year’s budget has been fixed at Rs 60 lakh, including all arrangements, and we expect a daily footfall of one lakh,” Nayak said. The Saheed Nagar Durga Puja Committee has been organising puja celebrations in the state capital since 1978, among the first puja committees to do so.

The association has made every effort to make the festivities inclusive for all categories of people, including senior citizens and specially challenged people. Keeping in view the security of visitors, the area would be covered by CCTV cameras along with 100 volunteers and 50 security guards.

“Local police will also provide security apart from an additional 50 women volunteers, who would be deployed by us,” Saroj Kumar Patra, vice-president of the puja committee, said.

“From ‘Panchami’ to ‘Dashami’, acclaimed artistes would perform in the pandal and five famous sportspersons from Odisha would be felicitated on those days,” he added.

The puja association has also organised free prasad for around 2,000 devotees on ‘Saptami’, ‘Ashtami’ and ‘Dashami’.

Debadurllav Harichandan

Recent Posts

Petition Claiming Rahul Gandhi’s Dual Citizenship: HC Tells Centre To Decide By Dec 19

Allahabad: Rahul Gandhi’s alleged dual citizenship has been under the scanner for some months. The…

November 26, 2024

ARTO & Junior MVI Among 5 Arrested For Extortion At Check Gate On NH In Odisha’s Ganjam

Berhampur: Police have arrested five persons including an ARTO and a junior MVI besides three…

November 26, 2024

Odisha CM Presents Rs 12,156 Cr Supplementary Budget In Assembly; Subhadra Scheme Gets Rs 1,196 Cr

Bhubaneswar: To meet the requirement of funds for public welfare and developmental activities, Odisha Chief…

November 26, 2024

Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Seeking Paper Ballots; ‘EVMs Tampered Only When You Lose?

New Delhi: Questions over the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been raised time…

November 26, 2024

Passengers Irked By Frequent Cancellation Of Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Flights

Rourkela: Frequent cancellation of Alliance Air flights on Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route appeared to have put a…

November 26, 2024

‘Safeguard Hindus’: India Reacts To Chinmoy Prabhu’s Arrest In Bangladesh

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday expressed concern over arrest and…

November 26, 2024

Youth Hacked To Death By Elder Brother Over Family Feud In Odisha’s Cuttack

Cuttack: A man allegedly killed his younger brother following a family feud at a village…

November 26, 2024

Odisha Announces Date For Final Phase Release Of Subhadra Yojana 1st Instalment

Bhubaneswar: The last phase of the first instalment of Rs 5,000 each to women beneficiaries…

November 26, 2024