Ganesh Puja was celebrated in different parts of the silk city here with great religious fervour. Many educational, cultural and business organisations held elaborate pujas on Thursday.
Pandals were put up across the town and in nearby areas where the devotees congregated in large numbers and offered their pujas. The town almost wore a festive look as the students and common people began hopping pandals, clad in colourful dresses.
However, rains at intervals proved to be a dampener because of which the puja aficionados stayed indoors, said social worker and resident of New Barracks Street Sushama Panda.
For the first time, the people here organised a community puja on subscription from residents in New Barracks Street. Coincidently, the Viswakarma Puja and Sankranti added to the glamour of the day.
Sociologists, however, attribute the rising popularity of lord Ganesh in silk city to several factors, including the rising belief of students on lord to excel in study and for having good memory and all round prosperity.
The puja was held at Khallikote College, Government Women’s College, Binayak Acharya College, SMIT Group of Institutions, Parala Maharaja Engineering College, City College, MKCG Medical College and Mahamayee Women’s College among other institutions that attracted thousands of students. There was a competition among the colleges to hold the puja in a grand manner.
Similarly, Mahan Sangh , a socio-cultural organization led by its chief Sushant Sabat, celebrated Ganesh Puja at Hill Patna and at Sri Sidha Binayak Temple. The puja performed in Gandhinagar, New Barrack Street, Gajapati Nagar, Dr Powell Street, Kamapalli, Girija Square, Bada Bazar and Tata Benz Square arranged by the respective local community primarily on voluntary subscriptions were found equally mesmeric and glossy.