BHUBANESWAR: From G20-themed pandals to eco-friendly idols, residents of the capital are in for a special treat this Ganesh Puja. With the celebrations kicking off on September 19, artists and puja committees are busy in last-minute preparations. One of the major attractions of the festival this year will be the unique G20-themed pandal at Saheed Nagar. Youth of Sahid Club in the locality are erecting the pandal which will have a 21-feet Ganesh idol to celebrate India’s historic and successful presidency in the recently concluded G20 summit.
“Hosting the G20 summit was a crowning moment for our country and the citizens and we thought we shouldn’t miss this opportunity while celebrating the festival. Accordingly, we came up with the theme,” said one of the organisers of the club. Apart from the G20 theme, a 46-feet tall Ganesh idol to be worshipped by the Winners Association of Saheed Nagar will be another major crowd puller during the puja. “We have come up with the theme as ‘Kaliya Dalan’ is the symbolic of victory of good over evil in which Lord Krishna subdued the snake demon Kaliya,” said Umanath Mishra, senior advisor of Winner Association.
He said the idol will also be eco-friendly and after immersion, the straws and clay will be used for gardening and other purposes to encourage others to follow environment-friendly practices. On the other hand, members of Maa Mangala Youth Club at Budheswari colony are making the Ganesh idols with different kinds of seeds.
“The eight-feet tall idol is being made using nine different seeds while the jewellery is being designed using paddy. We wish other puja committees also practice eco-friendly ways and avoid use of harmful chemical colours in idol making,” said club secretary Sanjay Kumar Acharya. Ganesh Puja this year will be celebrated in more than 600 places across the city and its periphery including hundreds of institutions.