BHUBANESWAR: Renowned for its swanky and magnificent pandals, Rasulgarh Durga Puja committee is creating a replica of Gujarat’s famous Swaminarayan temple this year.
More than 40 artisans from Kolkata are giving final touches to the pandal which is 80 ft in height and 120 ft in length. The idol of Goddess Durga is also being crafted by artisans from Kolkata. The idol’s height will be 6 ft and the medha 20 ft tall.
Rasulgarh puja committee has been celebrating the festival since the last 32 years but for the first time, prasad will be offered to visitors on Astami, Nabami and Dasami.
“Every year, hundreds of visitors from the city and nearby places visit our pandal. This time, we have decided to offer them prasad which will include khichdi, dalma and khatta on Astami, rice, dalma, khatta and khiri on Nabami and dahi pakhala on Dasami,” said committee president Prakash Routray.
The committee expects to serve the prasad to at least 5,000 visitors each day between 12 pm and 4 pm. Besides, a ‘bhajan samaroh’ will be organised on Sasthi. Musical programmes will be held on Astami, Nabami and Dasami. Noted singer Aseema Panda will enthral pandal hoppers on Dasami.
Another attraction for visitors will be the Meena Bazaar consisting of several joy rides and around 250 stalls. The pandal and the roads connecting to it have been decorated with colourful lights installed by a Cuttack-based technician.
Special arrangements have been made for senior citizens and differently-abled people visiting the pandal. Six volunteers including two women will be engaged to carry elderly people and differently-abled visitors on wheel-chairs to the pandal and facilitate their darshan.
Adequate fire safety arrangements have also been put in place. At least 100 fire extinguishers will be installed at the pandal as well as the stalls set up in Meena Bazaar. One fire fighting vehicle will also be stationed near the pandal to handle any emergency.
For security, 40 CCTV cameras will be installed and around 250 volunteers deployed to ensure that the festival passes off smoothly. Police personnel in plain clothes and 40 to 50 volunteers equipped with walkie-talkie sets will keep an eye on pickpockets during the rush hours near the pandal.
For the immersion ceremony procession, artistes from Balangir and Phulbani will dress as Aghoris and dance to the tunes of ‘Shiv Tandav Strotam’.