CUTTACK: Ganesh Puja is here and the festive atmosphere has already enveloped Cuttack city, with puja committees competing among one another to showcase their creative side with new and innovative ideas.
While several of them are focusing on gorgeous decorations and huge welcome arches, the Srikhetra Nagar puja committee at Tinigharia here is set to unveil a gigantic idol of Lord Ganesh, measuring around 62 feet, giving city residents a glimpse of the magnificent aura of our beloved Bappa.
With the committee celebrating its 58th year of Ganesh Puja, its Ganesh idol this year is said to be the tallest among all idols in the city, which is expected to be the biggest crowd puller this year.
Last year the puja committee had constructed a 56-feet tall idol of Lord Ganesh. Srikhetra Nagar puja committee president Rakesh Swain, who is also the corporator of ward no 51, said they spent a total of Rs 12 lakh towards making and installing the huge Ganesh idol, and setting up the puja pandal. “Around Rs 6 lakh has been spent towards constructing the idol alone,” he said.
Around 10 artisans led by eminent artist Gopal Behera of Rajahans were engaged in construction of the idol, which is 62-feet tall and 34-feet wide, for the last one-and-a-half months. While the idol is made of bamboo, straw and plaster of paris, the head, hands and ears are made of fibre. The idol has been painted with 3D colour paints, Swain informed. A gigantic Ganesh idol calls for an equally huge vahan (His divine vehicle), a six-feet-high Mushak (mouse). Meanwhile, to accommodate the Ganesh idol and His vahan, a huge pandal measuring 80-feet-high and 36-feet-wide has also been constructed. “The pandal construction and decoration work is almost nearing completion. A 50 kg laddoo, made from sesame seeds, has also been made to offer to Lord Ganesh,” Swain said.
He informed that the idol will be kept open for darshan for 10 days, beginning Monday from the occasion of Ganesh Puja. “Since it is not possible to carry the idol, we’ll observe the ‘Bisharjan’ ritual at the pandal and then dismantle the idol into pieces which will then be carried and immersed in the temporary pond on Kathajodi river bed,” Swain said.
Srikhetra Nagar puja committee secretary Sarada Prasanna Parija said they have decided to arrange ‘prasad’ for around 1,000 people, besides organising a mega blood donation camp and cultural programmes during the course of the festival.
