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Region�s biggest puja festival marks diamond jubilee

By STAFF Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, Sept 27 - Touted to be the biggest Durgotsav in the entire North-east, the Durga Puja festival organised by Jhalukpara�s Sri Sri Sarbajanik Durga Puja Samity at Old Government Boy�s School ground is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year. The festival is organised annually in an area of about 1.5 lakh square feet (12 bighas approx). It has remained the biggest crowd puller in the region for its grandeur and blend of creativity in a large space since decades.

This year, the puja mandap, which is a replica of the Coimbatore�s 112 foot tall Shiva Statue, which was recently unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fully air conditioned. The interior of the mandap is worth exploring for its majestic set up. It has angels in the snowy sky, effects of 3-D lighting and well-embellished roof and walls. �Our plan is to make the interior look heavenly. Devotees must feel that they are in a heaven-like place,� said Vijay Khemani, director of the organising committee.

The replica, which is of 120 feet wide and 80 feet in height, has a model traditional Assamese village on its right and a model Kaziranga National Park on its left. The festival site also has a play zone for children along with a representation of a �haunted house�, created by Amlan Saikia, a student of Salt Brook School. Other amenities include food parks, First Aid cell, a lounge for old-age people and differently-abled persons (with wheel chairs), stage and a media cell.

A special Mata Jagaran will also be observed at the festival, which will be led by a team from Delhi. Dhol performance by a 15-member team from Maharashtra, intoning of bhajans and other events like dandiya dance and other cultural programmes will also be presented, said Khemani.

The organising committee has deployed some 100 volunteers for the smooth conduct of the festival. For security reasons, CCTVs have also been installed at number of places for the surveillance. The organisers will also have access to the CCTV surveillance on their mobile Apps to monitor the festival, the organisers said.

Apart from the comprehensive puja festival arrangements, the organisers have also sought to disseminate social messages in the form of posters. The messages like �Save Rhino, Stop Child Labour, Protect Environment and on Cleanliness have been put up at different areas of the festival site. � We have also taken steps to minimise use of plastics in the festival as part of our endorsement to environment protection and cleanliness campaign,� the members of the organizing committee informed.

In all, there are some 105 Durga puja mandaps, erected within the Dibrugarh PS jurisdiction. The puja pandal of the Jyotinagar Sarbajanik Shree Durga Puja Samittee is modelled on the Meenakshi temple of Madurai while the Graham Bazar�s Mitra Sangha Puja Committee is highlighting butterfly. Graham Bazar�s Municipal Puja Samittee has erected its puja mandap on the replica of Anaconda. The other big community puja sites in the town and its adjoining areas include Marwaripatty, India Club, Shantipara, Milannagar, Amollapatty Natya Mandir and Bokel tea estate.

Meanwhile, the administration here has made elaborate plans for smooth traffic movement. From 11 am to 2 am midnight, the Seujpur Path, PN Road and AT Road Amollapatty to Graham Bazar have been declared �one way� during the puja days. For the parking of light motor vehicles, areas have been allotted along the RKB Path upto railway station and on the southern side of AT Road in Marwaripatty area. �No-entry� has been declared for heavy vehicles from Amollapatty intersection to Marwaripatty, Convoy Road intersection to Gabharupathar, PN Road junction to Shantipara, Thana Chariali to Phool Bagan and Graham Bazar police point to Phool Bagan. The NH 37 in Marwaripatty, HS Road, Jhalukpara Road, New Market Area and Mancotta Road have been demarcated as �no parking area�.

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