Durga Puja is here and the States of Assam, Tripura and West Bengal are celebrating it with great fervour. Durga Puja celebrations have also started in Tripura’s capital Agartala. Hordes of people thronged the various pandals on Monday (Sasthi day) to see the arrangements made by the different puja committees and clubs.
On Tuesday (Saptami), the people will start hopping various pandals to pay obeisance to Goddess Durga. Since the skies have opened up, people have got into the celebration mood. A lot of people visited the pandals on Sasthi day stating that from Saptami, the police will start putting up ‘No Entry’ at various points which “creates a lot of hassles”.
Few clubs in Agartala have come up with unique themes for Durga Puja this year. One such club is the Blue Lotus Club which has designed its pandal in the shape of Tripura’s State fruit Queen Pineapple to stun the pandal hoppers.
The Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated the ‘Queen Pineapple’ puja pandal and said that the pandal will help in spreading the message about Tripura’s State fruit among the visitors and will also motivate the farmers “to go in for pineapple cultivation which will help double their income”. Deb was accompanied by his wife. The Shantikami Club pandal theme resembled the Shiva temple constructed by Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir.