Office bearers of about 200 community puja committees of Dhanbad met at the Saraidhela ground, the site of Saraidhela Sri Sri Sri Durga Puja Samiti’ annual puja, on Sunday.
In consultation with the district administration, the committees have decided to keep the celebrations low-key with smaller pandals, and 4-5 feet-high idols instead of the usual 8-12 feet-high ones.
Speaking with The Telegraph Online, Vikash Sao, member of the Satyam Shivam Sundaram Samiti of Jharkhand Maidan, said, “Our puja is known for the accompanying fair, but we have not to hold a fair this year to maintain social distancing norms. The pandal will also be of much lesser height, compared to previous ones of 50-60 feet.”
The idol of Goddess Durga of Durga Puja Samiti, New Station Railway Colony in Dhanbad last year. Gautam Dey.
“Community pujas are dependent on fund collection. At a time when the economy is the worst hit due to the pandemic, the market is severely deprived of liquidity. Hence it is impossible to install huge pandals bearing an investment of Rs 5 to 10 lakh, ” Sao added.
Shyamal Sen, founding member of the Navyuvak Sangharsh Samiti, which organizes the puja at Manaitand, said, “The basic aim behind the smaller idols of four to five feet is to avoid huge gatherings during immersion.”
“Our volunteers will be deputed outside the puja pandal to avoid any violation of social distancing norms. Wearing of masks by visitors, as well as committee members will be mandatory,”said Sen. He also informed that office bearers of the newly constituted committee would soon be meeting with the Sub divisional officer of Dhanbad to finalize various details.
The Durga Puja pandal of Nav Yuvak Sangharsh Samiti, Manaitand in Dhanbad last year. Gautam Dey
More than 300 large and small community Pujas are organized in different parts of the district, spread over 11 blocks including Nirsa, Egyarkund, Kaliasol, Govindpur, Tundi, Purbi Tundi, Baghmara, Dhanbad, Baliapur and Topchanchi. About 100 of these pujas usually constitute a budget of Rs 10 lakh.
