?Goddess? on tree trunk

Devotees claims that the goddess has make an appearance, people started offering prayers at the tree, reports Ankush Singh.

Blind faith has been holding traffic to ransom in the Steel City’s main thoroughfare, Bistupur, since Monday. Reason: Little-known Goddess Sambaleswari ‘appearing’ on a tree in a vacant home meant for Tata Iron and Steel Co Ltd (Tisco) employees.

HT Image

Ever since the word spread, faithful from across the state and neighbouring Orissa are pouring in large numbers to have a darshan of the deity. The goddess is mostly worshipped in Orissa.

Four days back when some devotees claimed that the goddess has made an appearance, people started offering prayers at the tree. A series of mass prayers followed. This resulted into traffic snarls in a 100-m area. Devotees of the goddess are now planning to construct a permanent temple at the site. They have painted the tree with vermilion and arranged for round-the-clock puja.

“Since there is no proof of any kind of carving, it certainly seems to be a miracle,” said local resident Sushil Kumar. Rashmi Tripathy, who has come all the way from Balasore in Orissa said: “It is really amazing. I have deep faith in the goddess and preferred not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Meanwhile, the district police have made arrangements for a hassle-free ‘darshan’ for the devotees. B.B. Tirkey, in-charge of the Bistupur police station, informed that enough policemen have been deployed to man the traffic.

Email Ankush Singh: ankush0110@rediffmail.com