42-member committee to keep eye on Durga Puja pandals in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur, Oct 10: The focus of this year�s Durga Puja will be on precautionary norms. The weapons needed to beat COVID-19�sanitisers, thermal guns and medicines will be in place at the 320 puja pandals that are being constructed.

�It is safety first for all the Durga Puja committees in the city. We have decided to constitute a 42-member committee that will visit all the puja pandals to check whether safety guidelines are being followed or not. The main objective of puja this year will be to make people alert and conscious about the deadly virus,� said a senior functionary of Jamshedpur Kendriya Durga Puja Samiti. He further added that all puja committees are focussed on avoiding overcrowding and following all health and safety norms.

Durga Puja, observed in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, is much more than a festival that features exhaustive decorative pandals, performing arts, revelry and processions.  The festival marks the triumph of good over evil � battle of Goddess Durga with Mahishasura and her emerging victorious. The steel city is revelling in the spirit of Durga Puja and with each passing day, people are becoming more enthusiastic and lively.

Besides its religious and socio-cultural significance, Durga puja is also a time of economic boost for several lakh people. COVID, over the past few months, had left the economy to a grinding halt. However, the shopkeepers are now pinning hopes on the revival of the economy.

�The business is slowly picking up in the city. With the onset of festive season and signing of bonus agreements, big brands have gone all the way to woo the customers. From consumer electronics to apparels makers almost all the major players have come up with attractive offers,� said a member of Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

Hotels too are preparing to cash on the rising purchasing capacity of the people especially during the festive season. Officials of Jamshedpur Hotelier�s Association said that in Jamshedpur, Durga Puja is just not a festival of a particular community but people of every community celebrate it with zeal. This is the reason why people from every age group participate in the festival.

It is clear that the devotees of Jamshedpur want to vanquish COVID, the demon this year at all costs.