BHUBANESWAR: At a time when various puja committees in the capital city are brainstorming innovative pandals to outnumber their peers, the Saheed Nagar Durga Puja Samiti here is trying to bring in a traditional essence to the celebrations by shifting focus on rituals and prasad to be offered to the Mother Goddess during the puja.
Committee members said this year, the deity would be offered pithas such as kakara and other such traditional food items including khichdi, dalma and kheer prepared in pure ghee. The pandal, 85 ft high and 120 ft wide, will meanwhile be the replica of a castle having the design of a temple.
Sachinandan Nayak, secretary of Saheed Nagar Durga Puja Samiti said since the market is flooded with duplicate food items and products for puja, they decided to focus on collecting original and pure products essential for the purpose. “Accordingly, our staff our busy collecting these essentials including desi ghee, sandalwood and firewood for ‘Homa’ and ‘Yajna’ with the help of villagers.”
He said they have also planned to sell the prasad to devotees at the pandals apart from distributing it free for around 1,000 people from Saptami onwards. The idol of goddess Durga will be 12 ft high and adorned with a gold crown weighing around 1.5 kg besides a silver tableau of 15 ft weighing 170 kg.
“A control room will be set up and 20 to 30 CCTV cameras installed to keep a close watch on anti-social elements. Around 100 volunteers and 60 to 70 staff of private security agencies will also be deployed to ensure the festival passes off smoothly,” Nayak said. He said the Samiti will install seven to eight smoke detector cameras which will be monitored round-the-clock.