Rourkela: With the popular festival Ganesh Puja drawing closer, Rajgangpur is set to get a new immersion pond for the Ganesh idols this year. The construction of the new pond became a necessity after an unidentified person claimed ownership of the piece of land where the old pond existed. The Cement City will see immersion of the elephant God’s idols September 26 this year. The administration has kick started the construction of the new pond near the Liploi nullah just opposite of where the previous one existed. Notably, Rajgangpur is famous for its annual Ganesh Chaturthi Mahotsav. Like the state of Maharashtra, it is celebrated with much pomp and fashion here. Including individual households and community ‘pujas’, the town hosts more than 400 such celebrations. The immersion takes place either on the seventh or the ninth day.
Earlier the clay idols were being immersed in the Baba Talab in Ward No. 3. However, following the order of the Supreme Court a blanket ban now exists on immersing idols in water bodies which are used by the general public. Following this the administration constructed a pond for immersion. With a person staking claim of ownership on that piece of land, the administration decided instead to construct a new pond on a land that has no controversy. Vice chairman of Rajgangpur Municipality Md Irfan said, “The construction has started at a cost of approximately Rs 20 lakh. We are going to finish the construction very soon so that it will be ready for use by September 26.” Meanwhile, SDPO Abhishek Panigrahi also visited the spot. Speaking about his visit he said, “Rajgangpur needs the immersion rallies to be peaceful and for that, I visited the spot and inspected it. Because I wanted to have first-hand knowledge of the place so that police force can be deployed for the smooth completion of the immersion.” Rajgangpur Ganesh Chaturthi celebration is a much awaited festival in this part of the state.
Large number of visitors from nearby areas, Sundargarh, Bonai, and even neighbouring states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh visit Cement City to participate in the festivities. Industrialist Kamal Agarwal, chairman of the celebration committee, said, “It is a proud privilege for us where so many people from outside visit Rajgangpur. This happens because relatives and family friends visit the households here during the celebration.”