DHENKANAL: With just a day to go for the immersion of Goddess Laxmi, the pandals are chock-a-block with devotees to have a last glimpse of the deity on Monday.
According to sources, as many as six lakh revelers visited the pandals in two days. The major attractions are the pandals where the Goddess has been decked up in silver and gold. The pandals with silver backdrops are Meena Bazaar, Kaibalya Bazaar, Ganesh Bazaar and Laxmi Bazaar.
Meena Bazaar, the oldest puja pandal of the district, has used one and a half quintals of silver for the backdrop and one and half a kg gold for ornaments of Goddess Laxmi.
The district police are on its toes to manage the crowd which swells as the night progresses. With little space to park vehicles, people have to keep their vehicles at a distance and walk long distance to reach the pandals. According to police, as man as 22 OSAP forces have been deployed and eight platoons are on alert to ensure an incident-free puja.
Visitors have also been thronging Pallishree Mela at Mahisapat where an unprecedented crowd is being witnessed near the food and craft stalls from Korian Chowk to College bypass (seven km).
Besides locals, businessmen and SHG units from outside the district have also set up stalls. Demand for rural handicrafts and food products is high, said a vendor who has set up a stall at the mela. The food items prepared by SHGs are flying off the shelves. In absence of seating space, people have to stand in long queues for their turn.
Product like dokra items, pickles, dress materials, Rajstahani food, furniture and all other rural products in 340 stalls set up by people from 16 states have been a huge hit. The business has touched above `7 crore on Monday, said ORMAS sources.
Suman Singh, a ballon vendor from Rajsthan said, he has already sold 10,000 balloons with LOVE sign and earned above `30,000. The district popular dish ‘Bara’ is selling for `5 each. As many as 2000 temporary shops have been opened to sell bara.