Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: Durga Puja or Dussehra began across Odisha today with religious fervour. While Saptami (7th Day of the 10-day festival) is being observed at the Goddess Durga shrines, puja pandals are performing the Sasthi Puja (6th day) rituals like ‘Bilwa Barana’ today.
Tableaus and gold and silver-adorned idols of the Goddess are the biggest draw among visitors in Cuttack. More than 160 mandaps have been set up in the Millennium City.
Jayant Kumar Pradhan, secretary of Sikharpur Puja Committee said, “Young volunteers have been given charge to maintain peace and help smooth movement of visitors to get a darshan of the Goddess.”
In Bhubaneswar, the 70-ft long and 120-ft wide pandal at Rasulgarh is the biggest attraction. Among other prominent pandals, the Saheed Nagar puja committee has set up a grand mandap in line with design of the Buddhist temple in Thailand while the replica of Laxmi Vilas Palace of Gujarat is drawing visitors to Nayapalli pandal.