CUTTACK: Two puja committees, Maa Mangala Puja Committee at Gopaljew Lane in Matha Sahi, and Durga Mandir Parichalana Committee in Jobra, are set to enter the elite Chandi Medha (Silver Tableau) club this year during Durga Puja in Cuttack. With this, the number of puja committees in the prestigious Chandi Medha club will rise to 34 in the Millennium City.
Maa Mangala Puja Committee, which has been worshipping idols of Hara-Parvati, will set up a 13-ft high, 12-ft wide Chandi Medha using around one quintal of silver.
“The Chandi Medha work began in April 2024. Silver filigree artisan Pradeep Kumar Prusty is crafting it with the help of five co-artisans. The work has now reached its final stage. The Chandi Medha, featuring intricate silver motifs of peacocks, paan leaves and amba kasi among others, will be displayed at the pandal on September 28,” informed Madhusudan Ghadei and Anil Kumar Nayak, president and secretary of the Maa Mangala puja committee.
Similarly, the Jobra Durga Mandir Parichalana Committee is preparing a silver filigree backdrop for its puja mandap, where the idol of Goddess Durga is being worshipped since 1951. Before that, the committee worshipped idols of Hara-Parvati.
“Construction of the Chandi Medha began on Akshaya Tritiya. Silver filigree artisan Krushna Chandra Prusty and 10-12 co-artisans have built a 17-ft high, 15-ft wide Chandi Medha using 2.5 quintal of silver. It will serve as a backdrop for the idols of Goddess Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Lord Ganesh, Kartikeswar, and Mahishasura.
Although the Chandi Medha will be displayed at the pandal during the puja, it will not be part of the immersion procession this year due to incomplete structures for holding the backdrop,” said Pramod Kumar Jena and Srimant Dash, president and secretary of the committee.
“This year, 176 puja mandaps are expected in the Cuttack Mahanagar locality. While Goddess Durga’s idols will be worshipped at 103 pandals, clay idols of other deities, including Hara-Parvati, will be consecrated at the remaining pandals,” informed Bhikari Das, secretary of the Cuttack Mahanagar puja committee.
Cuttack admin extends single window system
Cuttack: The Cuttack administration has extended the single window system, aimed at facilitating issuance of provisional/final NOC to different puja committees for organising Durga Puja, by two more days on Monday and Tuesday. The decision has been taken in response to the requests from different puja committees to keep the single window system open for some more days. It, however, notified that no further extension shall be granted in this regard. All puja committees in Cuttack are required to obtain NOC for various purposes like safe electricity connection at mandaps, electric gates construction etc.