HYDERABAD: A steady stream of visitors is trickling in at Durga Puja mandaps in the city after a lull in festivities last year.
Footfall on the first two days has been better than expected, most Bengali cultural associations said. From Old City to Hi-Tec City, Hyderabad is host to close to a 100 pujas.
“We don’t have any stalls this year, but we had about 700 visitors on Shashthi (Monday). Our volunteers help maintain Covid-19 protocols,” said Sumit Sen, general secretary of the Hyderabad Bangalee Samity.
Abhijit Bhattacharya, vice-president of Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha, added, “We are more relaxed this year, but we’re not allowing more than 25 at a time for darshan. We have lots of food stalls, but the static crowd isn’t more than 200. It’s a continuous flow of people, staying for a while and leaving.”
At the Utsab Cultural Association in Gachibowli, joint secretary Indranil Aditya said allotting time slots helped regulate numbers. They have drawn 500 visitors each day, but the ‘pushpanjali’ on Ashtami, Wednesday, may see that number cross 1,000, he said.
The association has arranged ‘bhog’, but devotees are not being encouraged to linger after darshan. The ‘pushpanjali’ at the puja organised by Cyberabad Bangali Association is offline as well as online. Popular with techies, the puja drew nearly 5,000 on Shashthi evening and Saptami morning.
