Bhubaneswar: As the vibrant festival of Durga Puja approaches, preparations are in full swing at various puja pandals in City. Artisans are working overtime to finish their theme based structures as the countdown has begun for the autumn fest. To make the celebrations grander this year, Rasulgarh Durga Puja Committee is erecting a replica of Gujarat’s Swaminarayan Temple. According to sources, organisers are leaving no stone unturned to create awe inspiring thematic pandals to make the puja even grander and more pompous than ever before.
As many as 171 pandals will come up in the City this year. Organisers are competing among themselves to catch more eyeballs and enlist increased footfall of visitors by creating replicas of word famous monuments. Among those standing out include the Rasulgarh puja pandal which will enter the 32nd year of hosting the puja. The glorious, multi-coloured, wood-carved Swaminarayan Temple in Ahmedabad, was built in 1822 as the first temple of the Swaminarayan Hindu sect. Secretary of Rasulgarh Durga Puja committee Sanjay Baliarsingh said that 45 artisans from West Bengal are erecting the 85×120 structure which is scheduled to be completed before Sasthi. The pandal involves an expenditure of Rs 45 lakh.
In 2023, the committee created the famous Taiwan Buddha Temple. About security and safety measures, Sanjay said that the committee will install around 50 CCTV cameras for surveillance of the crowd along with the deployment of 100 security guards. Also, around 50 volunteers of the committee will oversee the traffic and vehicle parking. On DJ ban, Baliarsingh said, “We have brought several folk artistes and musicians and also the dhakis who will perform during puja.”
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP