PARADIP: The port city has been decked up with colourful pandals being erected by various organisations and industries for Vishwakarma Puja starting from Monday.
Paradip town is famous for its Vishwakarma Puja with the rituals being observed for a week. When Paradip Port became functional in 1963, people from different communities joined hands to organise the celebrations with the objective of maintaining communal harmony among the residents. The worship of Lord Vishwakarma ushers in the festive season in Paradip.
Worshipped as the divine engineer of the world, the Lord is not only revered by the engineering and architectural community but also professionals from other fields. It is customary for craftsmen to worship their tools during the puja.
Factories, garages, engineering institutes and workshops, decorated colourfully, observe a holiday on Vishwakarma Puja and huge pandals are erected across the town. Huge and innovative pandals are set up by Paradip Port’s electrical department, PHD and Marine department along with various trade unions like Paradip Port Workers’ Union, Paradip Port and Dock Mazdoor Union, Utkal Port and Dock Workers’ Union, Eastern India Oil Refinery Workers’ Union, Erasama Paradip Industrial Workers’ Union, Paradip Truck Owners’ Association, Jagatsinghpur Truck Owners’ Association, Odisha Maritime Fish Producers’ Association, BSNL, PPL, IFFCO, IOCL Paradip Refinery Project and Essar Steel Plant. Cultural programmes are also held during the period.
Police have made elaborate arrangements for traffic and crowd management during the puja. CCTV cameras have been fitted at sensitive locations of the town to keep an eye on anti-social elements. Police control room, medical centres and information centres have been opened across the port city to help the public. Besides, arrangements like electricity supply, drinking water and mobile toilets have been made by Paradip Port Trust and Paradeep Municipality in the town.