The Basanti Puja at the Beldih Kalibari here was a low key affair this year, thanks to the lockdown.

An otherwise bustling venue during this time of the year, the Kalibari saw a couple of devotees during the Shaptami Puja on Tuesday.

The Bharatiya Yuvashishtha Brahmananda Sangha that organises the festival with additional cultural programmes has kept arrangements minimal due to the lockdown.

The Kalibari Basanti Durga Puja was also devoid of the bhog prasad that is usually distributed among devotees on all three days.

Volunteers of the Sangha said that they have been asked to stay away from gatherings and thus only priests of the Kalibari who stay there performed the rituals.

“We have managed to organise the puja with bare necessities. There were only the priests and we have also discouraged devotees to come to the pandal,” said Srinivas Rao, a volunteer of the Sangha.

Chhath devotees offer the Bihaniya Arghya at the Subernarekha ghat in Sakchi, Jamshedpur. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Some devotees rued that they would be missing the delicious bhog prasad this time.

“I visit the pandal every day to get bhog for my family and myself but the lockdown shall not permit me to even visit the pandal. Hopefully things get back to normal and we can relish the bhog next time,' said Kalpana Srivastav, a resident of Kadma.

Other puja committees in the city refrained from organising the Basanti Puja. The ones organised in temples were celebrated.

On Tuesday morning, Chhath devotees offered the Bihaniya Arghya on Tuesday morning. Some families did throng river ghats without following social distancing norms.

Families offered Arghya together at the Subarnarekha river ghat, and a few were seen wearing masks.

'We preferred coming to the ghat as not many people observe the Chaiti Chhath,” said Sudhanshu Kumar, who had come with his family from Bhuiyadih. “We have all come after taking a bath and will again clean ourselves when we go back.”