City gears up to welcome Ma Durga

The usual iron-rod pandals (pavilions) have been replaced by all-bamboo green and cool ones. Budding TV stars have replaced Bollywood celebrities and singers. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

This year’s Durga Puja celebrations have been downsized.

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Organising committees say the culprit is low collections.

The usual iron-rod pandals (pavilions) here have been replaced by all-bamboo green and cool ones. Budding TV stars have replaced Bollywood celebrities and singers.

But not all are unhappy.

“It’s a blessing in disguise. As donations this year have plummeted to less than half of what we collected last year, we have gone in for low cost pandals and other cultural arrangements. Pandals and are using coconut strings as against iron rods and polythene cords. Such pandals are also cooler,” said Subir Ghosh, chairman of Sushant Lok Cultural Society that has taken a lead to affect changes in its celebrations.

“We have reduced the bhog (lunch) items,” said Sanjay Sanyal of Kendriya Vihar Durgotsav Samiti that has been organising the puja at Gurgaon’s biggest group housing society with 1,940 apartments since 2004.

Debashish Ghosh of Aravali Sanskritik Parishad at Suncity, with over 12,000 houses at Golf Course Road and organising the puja since 2003 said they have cut costs on illuminating the pandal.