Bhubaneswar: This year’s Ekamra Raja Mahotsav, the annual Ganesh Puja celebration at Badheibanka Chhak in Old Bhubaneswar, organised by Ekamra Raja Charitable Trust, is set to be more vibrant, with a host of new attractions lined up for devotees and visitors.
The festival will be held from September 14 to 25.
The trust announced the key points of this year’s celebration at a press conference on Sunday.
Informing the media persons, the trust’s chairman Amiya Dash said the venue for the cultural programmes would be shifted this year to a location near the Bhajan Mandap close to the Lingaraj Temple in order to avoid traffic issues.
A meenabazar with food stalls will be put up there where people can enjoy from 6 PM to 10 PM.
Giving details of the cultural line-up, the trust’s secretary Siba Prasad Behera said, “The first two evenings, September 14 and 15, will feature ‘Bhajan Sandhya’ with performance by singers Ipsita Panda and Shreecharan Mohanty. Singers Ira Mohanty, Aseema Panda and Umakanta Barik will be the attractions of third, fourth and fifth evening respectively.”
The organisers have also emphasised environmental protection. “We will distribute 20,000 saplings,” Behera said, adding that notebooks and pens would also be distributed among children as part of the trust’s effort to promote education.
Adding a touch of grandeur to the celebrations, the Ganesh idol—claimed to be the tallest in the Old Bhubaneswar area—will be adorned with a 20-gram gold ‘Trishula Chita’.
Special attention has been given to the decoration to the entire area. Kolkata-fame illuminating gates expected to be one of the major crowd-pullers.
As in previous years, prasad will be distributed on all five evenings.
The immersion procession too is expected to be a major highlight, with the participation of traditional instrument troupes from Odisha and other states. The organisers have also pledged to keep the five-day festival alcohol-free and the immersion procession DJ-free, in keeping with the traditional spirit of the celebration.
The trust informed that the budget of this year’s puja is expected to touch something around Rs 55 lakhs.
Among others, trust secretary Siba Prasad Behera, trust advisors Anchala Badu, who is the president of Badu Nijog; Rajesh Makadam, who is the secretary of Badu Nijog; BJD leader Manmath Routray, ward no 60 corporator Chandra Sekhar Mohapatra and spokesperson Gopal Chandra Makadam attended the press conference.
