Bhadrak Kali Puja starts from Tuesday

Bhadrak Kali Puja at Charampa bazaar is a special attraction and the tourists throng from across the State to witness the festival. The puja here is accompanied by a ‘mela’ wherein vendors from not just the State but from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Manipur and UP set up stalls to exhibit and sell their handicrafts.

This week-long festival starts from today. It is the grandest one in the region. There is festive look with numerous colourful pandals in every nook and corner of the town. Around 25 puja pandals have come up this year with attractive ‘medhas’.

Kali puja in Bhadrak was first celebrated in the temple of Bhadra Kali, from which Bhadrak got its name. In 1932, a railway employee after surviving a major train accident, started performing Kali puja. This was later taken up by railway employees and businessmen as a tradition on a large-scale.

Stalls with handicrafts from Odisha and other states including Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh are also a hit among the pandal-hoppers.

With organisers trying to outdo each other, artisans from Cuttack and Kolkata were roped in for the elaborate gateways and lavish decorations. The main attraction of the whole affair was the entertainment programmes organised by puja committees to attract the revellers.

“The puja took the shape of celebration when the railway employees and businessmen took part. Currently, Kali Puja draws crowds from across the State and outside,” said a member of the Railway Traffic Puja Committee. He added that the famous black stone Kali Puja of Bhadrak was started by a south Indian railway employee 90 years back.

Meanwhile, two IPS officers, a DSP, 65 police officers and 12 platoons of OSAP have been deployed for law and order during the festival. The Railways has also positioned five platoons of Government Railway Police (GRP), three GRP inspectors, 10 officers and a DSP. The district police have also formed an anti-eve teasing squad. Source – The New Indian Express.