Bhubaneswar: Gigantic Ganesh idols at several pandals are set to be the biggest attraction as the Capital city gears up to welcome the Lord of Wisdom and celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with all pomp and grandeur Tuesday.
Sarvajanik Ganesh Puja will be held at over 50 community pandals in Bhubaneswar apart from the various educational institutes, including schools, colleges, coaching centres and offices in the city.
The state government has decided to waive off rent for temporary use of government land within BMC limits for organizing different festivals like Ganesh Puja/Durga Puja/Kali Puja/ Laxmi Puja/ Kartikeswar Puja etc, for the current year in the ensuing Parvana season.
Puja committees organisors said keeping in mind the guidelines set by the Pollution Control Board they are mostly using natural and eco-friendly colours to paint the idols.
Mammoth Idols
A 55-ft-tall idol at the Badagada pandal will be the biggest draw of the season. Moreover, 10kg weight Silver foot of Lord Ganesh made by artistes of Cuttack will be another major attraction, said Sangram Martha, secretary of Bright Star Youth Association, Badagada.
Apart from Badagada, Nayapalli-based Akhandalamani Seva Sansad has also made a 51-ft-high Ganesh idol for this year’s Puja. It has been sculpted by artisans from Cuttack and Kolkata, said president of Sansad, Prashant Kumar Badajena.
Moreover, both the associations at Badagada and Saheed Nagar will offer around 50 kg ladoo at their respective pandals. Large idols will also feature the pandals at Saheed Nagar, Sailashree Vihar and other parts of the city.
The Saheed Nagar club has prepared the pandal on the concept of the recently held G-20 Summit in New Delhi.
Cultural Events
The committees will continue the puja celebrations for five to seven days. Some Puja committees have also planned cultural events and Bhajan Sandhyas near pandals during this period. With the Puja celebration commencing Wednesday, the city markets are witnessing huge rush for shopping.
This apart, popular Odia film singers like Humane Sagar, Aseema Panda, Deepti Rekha Padhi, Navya, Kuldeep Patnaik and others are scheduled to perform at various pandals during the festivities.
Immersion Points
Like every year, this year too the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has constructed three separate immersion ponds: at Kuakhai bridge near Pandra, near Tankapani Road and near Lingipur adjacent to Daya bridge, respectively to facilitate seamless immersion of idols, starting from Ganesh Puja, the first celebration of the Puja season.
Multiple Odia movie releases to clash this Ganesh Puja
Release of several big ticket Odia movies will clash at cinema halls across the state during this year’s Ganesh Puja.
Those include Sabyasachi Mishra-starrer Pushkara. Produced by Tarang Cine Production, Pushkara, starring Sabyasachi and Supriya Nayak in lead roles, is based on Odia novel ‘Nadabindu’ written by eminent writer Sankar Tripathy. The movie marks the directorial debut of DOP-turned-director Subhranshu Das.
Elina Samantaray-starter Pratisodh will be released September 22. The Zee Sarthak Films produced movie will show Elina in action avatar. The movie is directed by Sai Swaraj Renuka Mangaraj and also features Samaresh Routray, Kuna Tripathy in key roles.
Other movies which will clash with them are Sohamm Singh’s Rowdy Raja, Cookies Swain’s Kasturi, Sidhanth Mohapatra’s ‘Shankar’ and Sambit Acharya’s Hey Ram.
Fans expect that after recent success of ‘Daman’ and ‘Pratikshya’, the makers will produce good and original movies.
Arindam Ganguly, OP