GUWAHATI, Oct 3 - Gripped by the festive spirit, Guwahati is all set to witness the colourful celebration of Durga Puja along with rest of the country from Mahasasthi tomorrow.
Sasthi is considered as the beginning of Durga Puja in pandals as in most places, the eyes of Goddess Durga are painted on this day, symbolising infusion of life into the main idol.
Guwahati, which hosted more than 490 big and small Durga Puja celebrations last year, is gearing up for a grand celebration once again with a number of huge mandaps being constructed in the city to attract maximum number of pandal hoppers. According to an estimate, the number of pandals would cross 500 this time.
�A number of permissions are still in the process as many departments and agencies, including the police, Pollution Control Board of Assam, disaster management authorities, PWD, etc, are involved in the process of granting permission. Considering the large number of applications processed so far, the number of pandals would exceed 500 this time,� sources from the district administration stated.
Like every year, a number of grand pandals are being constructed in Guwahati. At Noonmati, a pandal replicating Chandrayaan 2 is being constructed, whereas at Kalapahar, the visitors would have to enter a big ship to pay their obeisance to the Mother Goddess. Several pandals would display the traditional Assamese bamboo craftsmanship.
Like every year, this year too, maximum number of pandals have been constructed in the Jalukbari-Pandu area.
The Kamakhya temple has already started witnessing a huge rush of people that would swell manifold during Saptami, Astami and Navami.
�Since the regular puja and Navaratri puja are both going on inside the temple, the temple is opened for devotees from 8.30 am onwards these days instead of the regular timing of 6.30-7 am. On the last three days of Puja, the temple gates would be opened around 10.30 am,� Dip Sarma, a priest of the Kamakhya shrine, said.
Kumari puja, an integral part of Durga Puja, is also being held in the temple premises.
