A conglomerate of over 300 Durga Puja committees in Ranchi has decided to deliver Bhog at the doorsteps of people staying in the vicinity of various puja pandals and is set to seek the permission for the same from the government, puja organisers said on Wednesday
Members of the umbrella body of Durga Puja pandals in the State capital, the Ranchi District Durga Puja Committee (RDDPC), said on Wednesday that the puja committee members will follow all the precautionary measures and ensure contactless delivery of Bhog to the residents of Ranchi.
The president of RDDPC, Ashok Purohit said that representatives of various puja committees in the city will soon meet concerned officials of the district administration and float their demand for home delivery of Bhog.
“Puja cannot happen without offering Bhog to Maa. We cannot throw off that Bhog. It has to be consumed by devotees,” said Purohit, adding that the various puja committees will take the responsibility of delivering Bhog to the houses in the vicinity of their pandal.
“When we can allow Swiggy and Zomato to deliver food from restaurants, then why can’t we allow puja committee members home deliver Bhog?” asked Purohit.
Members of the RDDPC met chief minister Hemant Soren a day before the Government issued its guidelines for Durga Puja celebrations in Jharkhand. However, the committee members did not know then that the Government will prohibit distribution of Bhog and installation of loudspeakers during puja.
“If we knew that the government was planning to prohibit distribution of Bhog and playing mantras on loudspeakers, then we would have asked the government to make amendments in the guidelines the very day we met the CM,” Purohit said.
RDDPC members said that they were expecting revised guidelines from the Jharkhand government in the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, the RDDPC has also assured that all puja committees will take additional precautionary measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus during the four days of Durga Puja.
“We would never want to be blamed for the spread of Covid-19 virus, therefore, we will be taking additional precautionary measures during those four days,” said Ramesh Singh, a member of the Chandrashekhar Azad Puja Committee in Ranchi.
It is worth mentioning here that the Mamata Banerjee-led government in neighbouring West Bengal has left it upon the puja organisers to decide how they wanted to distribute Bhog during Durga Puja in Kolkata, the city which is globally famous for hosting the most extravagant Durga Puja.