Sambalpur, October 10, 2013: Innovative pandals will adorn Sambalpur during the Durga Puja this time.

The puja at Daleipada promises to draw crowd as the organisers are setting up a pandal replicating Orissa High Court bench taking lead from the lawyers’ agitation over the issue. A huge light gate will also come up near the structure.  There are 64 puja committees in the town and each of them has thought of something unique. The puja committee at Budharaja-Fatak, which has the tradition of roping in local artists for construction of pandal, will this time set up a palace. The pandal and light gates near it would come up at a cost of `10 lakh. Local artisan Hari Patel of Badbazar has been entrusted with the work.

The committee has the distinction of coming up with innovative designs every year. Last year, dolls were used to decorate the pandal. Dhanupali puja committee, which has carved a niche for itself for excellent lighting and pandal design, is recreating a 70-foot high modern day palace. They have drawn up an estimate of `11 lakh. At Hatpada, local residents have decided to instal Goddess Durga on ‘Pushpak Vimana’ with a backdrop of cloud made of plaster of Paris, cardboards and thermocole. Here, the celebration is over a century old. This year, they have fixed the budget at `3.5 lakh.

At Dhutrapada, the celebration will be a grand affair. For, the puja committee is celebrating its golden jubilee. The organisers are recreating Basudev temple of Maharashtra and they have also decided to paint the entire mandap in golden colour.

Similarly, the puja committee at Ainthapali on NH-6 has drawn up a budget of `5 lakh and will recreate Victoria Memorial Hall at Kolkata. However, the thrust will be on the rituals in Samaleswari and Patneswari temples in Sambalpur town besides at Kalibadi where the puja is performed in traditional Bengali style.

Source: The New Indian Express