HYDERABAD: A year after subdued Durga Puja celebrations, Bengali cultural organisations in the city are hoping that 2021 will see a more festive atmosphere at the puja mandap.
While elaborate arrangements are in place for devotees, keeping in mind warnings about an impending third wave of Covid-19, organisers agree that the rigorous pace of vaccination has allowed them to notch up the scale of celebrations over last year.
“Most devotees want to come to our puja as we are the oldest,” said Sumit Sen, general-secretary of Hyderabad Bangalee Samity, which marks its 80th Durga Puja festivities this year. “But not more than 50 devotees will be allowed inside the mandap at a time and 100 persons on the premises. We will have barricades outside the venue and volunteers to help with crowd control. The idol too is smaller in size.”
Other organisers have followed suit with smaller-sized idols and capping the number of people in line with government regulations. The Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha, said president Deepak Bhattacharya has made two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine mandatory to enter the venue. Entry to the puja organised by the Utsab Cultural Association in Gachibowli will also be regulated by a two-dose certificate or a negative RT-PCR test result, said general-secretary Krishnendu Roy, agreeing that while they anticipate a larger crowd this year, different time slots will be allotted to devotees.
In Narsingi, Chiranjeet Ghosh, secretary of Uttaran Bangiya Samiti, which is organising its fourth Durga Puja, said, “We have a separate area for children and are encouraging elderly devotees to avoid peak times.” “Before the pandemic we would see between 5,000 to 6,000 visitors a day for our ‘bhog’.
In 2020, we came down to 300 visitors a day, but this year we expect a footfall of around 500 on each day of the festival,” said Sanjay Bose, executive committee member of Bengalee Cultural Association, Masab Tank. “We hope this will be a better year. After all, Durga Puja is a matter of sentiment among the community.”
