ROURKELA: The southern tip of Rourkela comprising Fertiliser Township and adjoining pockets has earned a distinct identity with its penchant for extravagant celebration of Laxmi Puja.
However, the grandeur of the festival is now becoming a thing of the past due to unemployment of contractual workers and crackdown on once flourishing illegal metal scrap trade. If the rest of the city is known for lavish spending on Durga Puja festival, then South Rourkela till recently used to steal the march with Laxmi Puja.
Fertilizer Community Centre president Sricharan Samal said this year Laxmi Puja is being celebrated at 23 locations from Deogaon to Jalda with Fertiliser Township alone accounting for 19 pandals. He said unlike past years, the puja budget has been drastically reduced. At least half a dozen big budget organisers have cut their expenditure to `1.5 lakh to `2 lakh from previous spending of `4 lakh to `5 lakh. Hit by economic recession, locals are unable to chip in donations reflecting on the celebrations.
South Rourkela comprises a small township of RSP and 32 slum pockets with a total population of about 50,000. About 20,000 people work as contract workers and daily labourers, while 3,000 to 4,000 people of six slums are engaged in salvaging metal scraps from the slag dumping yards of RSP. They informed that in recent years, the illegal scrap trade has been reduced by 70 per cent, while previously big-time illegal scrap traders used to fund the celebrations handsomely.
