JAGATSINGHPUR: The festive fervour of Navaratri has gripped the industrial town here. The festival was celebrated with much fanfare and traditional gaiety on Saturday. Devotees have been offering prayers to goddess Durga at various temples since Thursday. The temples have been decked up with flowers and lights for the nine-day-long festivities, dedicated to different incarnations of the goddess. Devotees thronged Brajrajnagar’s ancient Ramchandi Shakti Peeth, Jharsuguda’s Sidheswary Shakti Peeth and Saap Khand Van Devi’s shrine in Kanaktura along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.
Special prayers were offered at Brajeshwary temple, Kanak Durga temple, OMP Maa Durga temple, Maa Kali temple, Maa Tarini and Samlei temple in the district. “Today (Saturday) is the third day of the festival, which will culminate on Friday and Vijaya Dashmi will be celebrated on Saturday,” said the priest at Ramchandi Shakti Peeth, Krishna Bhuvan.
Besides Navratri, the festival of Durga Puja is also being observed in the town. The North Settlement Durga Puja Committee here has been organising the festival for more than 104 years now.
Based on various themes, the Pandals and Mandaps have been decorated lavishly. Not just that, several puja committees have promoted Eco-friendly themes at their pandals. Artists from Raipur, Jharkhand, Bihar and Kolkata gave finishing touches to the idols here.Meanwhile, security arrangements have been stepped up for the festival. “All arrangements have been made for strengthening security measures and traffic regulations during the festival,”said SP R Prakash.