Jamshedpur: The South Eastern Railway Traffic Colony Durga, Laxmi and Kali Puja Committee at Traffic Colony, Bagbera, is Jamshedpur�s oldest, founded in 1906, a year older than Tata Steel itself.
The then stationmaster of Kalimati (renamed Tatanagar later), Dilip Sengupta, started this tradition way back in 1906 .
Tata Steel started giving its profit-sharing bonus in 1934 to enable employees to celebrate Durga Puja with fervour.
� We maintained the rich legacy of the puja and devotees look forward to be a part of the celebration,� said a committee member.
The steel city�s zeal to keep cultural differences aside and usher in the spirit of Durga Puja has been an aspect to cherish.
With the onset of festive season, the city beckons to wear a new colour in an event breaking the barriers of communities, cultures, basking under a unified human spirit.
With about 320 puja pandals adoring, the city has turned into an exotic location where radiant faces of the people speak volumes of the importance of the festival.
The artistically carved idols of Goddess Durga are also attracting the devotees a lot.
The Durga Puja pandal at the Thakur Pyara Singh � Dhurandhar Singh Club in Kasidih is being modeled on the Kurushetra War as depicted in the epic Mahabharata where the advice given by Lord Shri Krishna to Arjuna is depicted.
Designers from Contai in West Bengal are giving the finishing touches to this exquisite creation.
From ancient temple to magic fort, the denizens would get opportunity to witness the best of pandals this season.
When it comes to the celebration the creative talents of artists get a free flow, bringing out an array of interesting pandals by each of the more than 300 puja samitis in the city every year.
Even Ghaghidih Central Jail authorities are all set to celebrate Durga Puja at the premises of the prison.
As the number of central prison has crossed the 2,000 mark, the administration is organising the celebration on a grand scale.
Ghaghidih Central Jail superintendent, Satyendra Prasad Chaudhury said that they celebrate the Durga Puja in traditional way every year.
“We do distribute `Bhog’ not only to the convicts and undertrial prisoners, but also distribute them to the people living in the adjoining TRF Colony and also Ghaghidih area.�
Bulk of our budget is earmarked for the Bhog,” said Chaudhury.
The jail superintendent said that they do spend hardly Rs 10,000 or so in the pandal for the Durga Puja.
But we spend lavishly on the `Bhog’ which is distributed for three consecutive days from Maha Saptami till Navami.
