Rourkela: Cement City Rajgangpur is gearing up to welcome Lord Ganesh, the elephant god, with enormous religious fervour. Despite limitation of space, the major industrial town of Sundargarh district hosts one of the biggest puja celebrations in Odisha.
The town is wearing a different look for the upcoming festivities on Ganesh Chaturthi. “No one knows how Ganesh Chaturthi celebration came to be so widespread here. We celebrate it in a grand manner just like in Maharashtra, where it has the status of a state festival,” said industrialist Kamal Agarwal, chairman of the Ganesh Puja Celebration Committee. In a parallel to what happens in Maharashtra, people from all walks of life and linguistic identities participate in this religious extravaganza.
Every year over 150 pandals are erected in different localities of the town. “This is nothing short of a miracle to host over 150 celebrations in such a small town like Rajgangpur and without any hassle. The entire week remains free of untoward incidents,” said one Deepak Pattnaik, a resident of the town. At this moment, the pandals have been earmarked and the massive clay idols are being given the final touches.
Speaking about the preparation for the upcoming festival, Rajagangpur SDPO Abhishek Panigrahy said, “We have the crime meeting September 12 and then we will have our own meeting the next day for preparation. Also, there will be a coordination and peace committee meeting with the representatives of the committees before September 15 where measure will be discussed for immersion of idols. The celebration generally continues for 10 days and will be over September 28. So far, we have just given force requirement requisition to the SP office.”
Almost all the pandals have high budget. President of one of the biggest committees who did not want to be named said, “A minimum of `15-20 lakh is the budget for even the smaller committees so imagine the amount of money put into the grand celebration. The preparation remains on throughout the year.” It is the quality, variety and quantity of ‘prasad’ that actually establishes the truth about the budget for each pandal. The town has money so we don’t hesitate to spend for God,” he said.
MD Irfan, vice chairman of Rajgangpur Municipality said, “We have started cleaning and maintenance works much before to make the festival worth enjoying.” People throng in lakhs to witness this grand celebration from all adjoining areas including Rourkela, Sundargarh and Bonai.
By Rajesh Mohanty, OP