SAMBALPUR: After confrontation with the district administration over display of arms and wielding of swords during Hanuman Jayanti celebration for the last three years, the Hanuman Jayanti Samanwaya Samiti (HJSS) is set to celebrate the festival in a peaceful manner in the city this year.HJSS general secretary Sudhir Bohidar said they have assured the district administration to celebrate the Hanuman Jayanti, scheduled to be held on April 14, in a peaceful manner during the peace and coordination committee meeting. He said that they will celebrate the festival in a grand way with display of traditional weapons by Akhadas during the procession.
As per their programme, zone-wise meeting will be held between April 1 and 6 followed by installation of flags in different parts of the city between April 8 and 10. Street corner meetings will be held between April 11 and 13. This apart, they will take out a bike rally and conclude the festival with the huge procession on the day of Hanuman Jayanti, he said.This year, the main procession will begin from Balibandha and conclude at Zilla School Chowk. The route of the procession has been changed as flyover work is underway at Peer Baba Chowk where the procession usually concludes. Akhadas from 22 different localities of the city will participate in Hanuman Jayanti procession, he added.
In 2015, the district administration had banned display of arms and wielding of swords on the plea that it was not allowed during Muharram procession. But former Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra breached the prohibitory orders and wielded sword. Later, he was arrested. Even a case was registered against Mishra in 2016 for violating the prohibitory orders by wielding sword.Last year, Sambalpur police arrested Mishra besides 12 others ahead of Hanuman Jayanti procession to prevent wielding of swords at public places and maintain peace during the festival.
Devotees witness Hingula Yatra
Talcher:Thousands of devotees on Friday thronged Gopal Prasad, 25 km from here, to have ‘darshan’ of Maa Hingula on her day of appearance (abirvab) on the occasion of Chaturdasi. As per legend, Maa Hingula, who stays in the kitchen of Srimandir, leaves it for a day on Chaturdasi for her pitha at Gopal Prasad and she appears in form fire for public darshan.
Heavy rush of devotees was witnessed since early morning while traffic jams were witnessed at many places in the town. The nine-day festival will conclude on April 7. This year, the entire pitha will be under the surveillance of CCTV cameras while use of polythene has been banned in the puja. At least eight platoons of police forces along with three DSPs, four inspectors and 35 sub-inspectors have been deployed for smooth passage of the festival, said SDPO HK Panda.
