STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: Enthusiasm and fervour were in full display as the Bengali community here came out to celebrate Durga Puja.
The five-day festival, which began on October 1, was celebrated as per tradition at puja pandals in different parts of the city, officials said.
“We have been organising this puja for more than 50 years…,” Jammu Durga Puja Committee Secretary Rinku Bose said.
“Earlier it used to be a small-scale event limited to a few families. Now, with many national-level institutions coming up in Jammu, many Bengali families have joined. People from across religion come here and we welcome them all. This festival is an example of communal harmony.”
The committee organises its Durga Puja at Digiana Industrial Area with a huge number of visitors taking part in the celebrations.
Bose added that the ‘puja mahabhog’ (devotional offering made to the deity) was distributed to over 1,000 people daily.
Another highlight was the daily cultural programmes with performances by local talent at the pandal premises, he said.
The Ramakrishna Mission also observed Maha Navami at its premises in Udaiwala on the city’s outskirts.
A large number of devotees gathered for the celebrations, which started early in the morning with a ‘mangalarati’. A special puja was also performed, a spokesperson for the mission said.
