Patna: The 4 day long Durga Puja has begun in Bihar, with the curtain raising of the holy idol of Goddess Durga. The Curtain raising in various Puja Pandal has started since morning and some of the Pandals in Patna have allowed visitors to view the Goddess’ Idol from as early as 9 AM. Traditionally, this ceremony is done at night.
The Pandals at Boring Road,Rukkanpura Puja Samiti, S K Puri Puja Pandal, Jagdeo Path Puja Pandal opened up for visitors in the early morning today. There are some Pandals however, which would open up late night today which include Pandals at Dak Bungalow and Gardani Bagh Road No. 10.
Beautifully crafted statues of the goddess wearing jewellery and golden armor have already been installed in the pandals. Many Pandals have tried to be eco-friendly this year. They have refrained from pollutants such as plastic materials, synthetic paints and anything that is not biodegradable. There are 1,097 pandals in the city.
One of the major attractions among Pandals would be the replica of Chennai’s Digambar Jain Temple at Dak Dungalow. It took the makers eight months to design the temple, which is made of steel. Amit Kumar, member of Dak Bunglow Puja Samiti, said that around Rs 10 lakh to design the Pandal.
Patna Police has issued fresh guidelines to maintain the traffic in the wake of growing rush of visitors. The Roads have been divided into No-Vehicle zones and one-way roads from 5pm to 5am on all days.
The No-vehicle zone includes road from Dakbungalow Crossing to Kotwali Mor, Sabjibag, Govind Mitra Road, Khajanchi Road, Dariyapur Gola Road, Thakurbadi Road. From Bakarganj to Saidpur on Bari Path.
The one-way traffic has been ordered on roads from Sheikhpura Mor to Ashiana Mor (traffic will flow from west to east), Bhattacharya Mor to Dakbungalow crossing (traffic flow from east to west), From NIT Mor to Gai Ghat (traffic flow from west to east), Gai Ghat to Chowk Stand.
Due to the large number of vehicle owners, several places have been designated for parking. This includes Roads from LIC building till Bata store on Fraser Road, in front of the Planetarium and western flank of the road in front of Mauryalok, in front of Sinha Library, in front of Buddha Smriti Park, Akashvani Mor till JP Roundabout on Fraser Road.
Credits: Transport Rules by The Telegraph.