Durga Puja celebrations started at various places, including Raipur, Bengali library, Hathibarkala, Karanpur and Dharampur, on Friday. The day was marked as Sashthi Puja, the beginning of the festivities, known as ‘Bodhan’, the unveiling of the deities.
Tapas Chakraborty, general secretary, Puja Committee, Raipur, Dehradun, said that the 73rd Durga Puja celebrations being held near the Ordnance Factory Estate would start drawing crowd from Friday, the day the festivities started.
“Bodhan or Sthapana being held in the evening heralds the four-day puja. The Goddess and the other deities of her constellation are invoked through pujas on the day of Sashthi. The Bodhan was followed by the cultural programmes which draw huge crowds,” he said.
The Puja at Raipur has many things in store for the puja revellers. The idols are large and the illuminations would strike as different this year, he said, adding that CCTV cameras have also been installed by way of security.
“Security is important, given the present tense situation across the country. Thousands would throng the pandal. So we cannot leave things to chance,” Chakraborty said.
He further said that the Pandal set up in a large tent is larger this year than what it was in the previous years. “This means that the number of people sitting in the pandal would be almost double of that of the previous years. Besides, the stalls being put up would have a new look. In a word, we have taken pains to make the puja have a novel look in every way,” he said. .
No festival or Puja is complete without food. The stalls pitched in the puja premises are providing not just a taste of typical Bengali delicacies but also items which are gourmet’s delight. “We have taken care to provide the visitors with the fervour typical of the festivities along with the share of entertainment and revelry,” Chakraborty added.