CUTTACK: With rain giving way to clear sky, organisers in the Silver City are burning midnight oil to complete preparations for Durga Puja which begins from Saturday.
While a majestic arch replicating the ISKCON temple at Mayapur in West Bengal is getting ready at Badambadi, a scene from the Line of Control (LoC), a temple dedicated to Nandi (bull) in Karnataka and Jal Mahal will come alive during this year through welcome gates.
While 70 per cent of work at Badambadi by the Badambadi-Shankarpur Puja Committee is over and artisans have started draping the gate with satin fabrics with yellow and green hues, those at Khan Nagar, Chauliaganj, Tulasipur, Malgodown and Sikharpur are racing against time to complete the welcome arches, construction of which was delayed due to rain.
Artist Rabindra Kumar Das is designing the 60 ft high Khan Nagar Puja Committee gate, which is a replica of LoC complete with figurines of weaponry, army camps and towers. Puja committee secretary Prafulla Sahoo said he is hopeful that the gate will be completed in next two days if there is no rain. Work had started on Ganesh Puja and materials like coconut husk, fibre, ply and Plaster of Paris are being used.
As many as 40 local artisans working under Das are also setting up a ‘Saheed Manch’, where photographs of Uri martyrs would be displayed, and an Amar Jyoti near the welcome arch. Both the Saheed Manch and Amar Jyoti will be inaugurated by Cuttack Collector and DCP on Saptami day. On the occasion, 400 medicinal plant saplings will be distributed among people by the Puja committee to spread the message of environment protection among people.
At Tulasipur, the local Puja committee secretary Jitu Mohanty said while work on the 10.5 ft high idol of Lord Shiva is over, construction of the 60 ft high arch replicating Nandi Bull temple of Karnataka is in progress. “We have roped in more labourers to complete the gate before Sasthi. We will decorate it with lights to make it look like an original temple,” he said.
Similar is the case with Malgodown Puja committee where the Jal Mahal of Rajasthan is being replicated. Sculptors are also working overtime for completing the idols of Goddess Durga.