| The Durga Puja Pandal at Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar |
| The Old Station Durga Puja Pandal |
Women empowerment is the theme selected by the Old Station Puja Committee - the oldest in the City. While the pandal here is a combination of various heritage sites across India which house idols of Goddess Durga, interiors of the structure will house idols of various women achievers and the goddess in different postures, said Subhas Behera, a Bhubaneswar-based artist who has conceived the design of pandal this year.
| The Shiva Temple at Rasulgarh |
| The Art of Living Centre at Nayapalli |
| The Durga Puja Pandal at Jharpada |
The Jharpada Durga Puja Samiti will capture pandal hoppers' attention this year with the replica of Cibeles Palace of Madrid, Spain. Replica of the cathedral-like heritage monument built in 1909 by Antonio Palacios, is 50-ft-high and 120-ft in width.
The man who shaped up this majestic structure with 'Sunpack' sheets, thermocool and foam besides, bamboo and wood is Jiten Bera, a craftsman from West Bengal, who came here with 50 of his workers. The pandal houses a 20-feet high idol of Goddess Durga seated on a lion and accompanied by other deities. For the purpose, the puja samiti had roped in a sculptor from Cuttack, Japani Singh. Adding to the attraction are three large LED light gates, which have been prepared by light artisan, Rabindra Kumar Ray of Cuttack. These gates have been put up near Jail road Chhack, Laxmisagar police station and Ganesh mandap in the area. Last year, the puja samiti had replicated the Grand Palace of Thailand.
| The Durga Puja Pandal at Baramunda |
Like every year, the puja committees have lined up 'Bhajan Samarohs' during the Puja. Besides, Ravana Podi along with exquisite fireworks will be organised at Jharpada, Saheed Nagar, Rasulgarh and Nayapalli. All the three committees are preparing 45-foot high idols of the Demon King for the purpose. Saheed Nagar Puja Committee will be setting afire two Ravana idols - Ravana and Mahiravana (brother of Ravana) - on October 23.
"Fireworks will be a speciality of our puja mandap. We are also in talks to organise a Kansa Darbaar like it is done in Bargarh during the five days of Puja," said Basant Behera, member of the Nayapalli committee.
Lakhs of rupees have been spent this year for construction of these puja pandals. According to an estimate, each puja committee has coughed up about Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh to put up the pandals. Sources said s many as 172 puja pandals are coming up in central Bhubaneswar and in its periphery areas.
