Eco-friendly themes a highlight of Dibrugarh Puja pandals this year

DIBRUGARH: From Uttarakhand's Char Dham to eco-friendly tribal lifestyle, puja committees in Dibrugarh look to dazzle revellers with its innovative themes.

Dibrugarh's famous Jhalukpara Sarbajanin Durga Puja , celebrating its 62nd year, has decided to replicate Uttarakhand's Char Dham - Yamunotri, Gangotri , Kedarnath and Badrinath.

"Many people have only heard about the famous Char Dham but they can't always visit these places because of lack of resources. Therefore, we thought of replicating the places so that people get a feel of the pilgrimage sites here in Dibrugarh. Another highlight of our puja this year will be the eco-friendly idol made of clay and sand made in Kumartuli, West Bengal," Binay Garodia, joint secretary of the Jhalukpara puja committee, said. Speaking about the expected turnout of people this year, he added, "We expect over 2 lakh people from Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and even Arunachal Pradesh this year. Commute has become easier with the opening of the new Bogibeel bridge which connects Dhemaji and Dibrugarh."

Going green, the Mitra Sangha Durga Puja has decided to portray the eco-friendly life of the tribal people of Tripura. Sandeep Tulsyan, secretary of Mitra Sangha puja committee, said, "Environment-friendly themes have been a highlight of our pujas. We have also won many awards for it. This year, taking the thought further, we have decided to showcase the green lifestyle of the Adivasis which is an important step towards checking global warming."

Another famous puja in town, which is stepping into its 75th year this time, is the Marwari Durga Puja. "For our platinum jubilee celebrations, we have chosen Dreamland as our theme. Apart from the attractive theme, our puja will be completely eco-friendly," Rajesh Bajaj, secretary of Marwari Durga Puja committee, said.

Of the noted Durga Pujas in town, the Grahambazar Municipal Colony Durga Puja has also chosen tribal lifestyle as their theme while the highlight of the Subhash Pally Durga Puja is their idol made of pencils. The Jyoti Nagar Durga Puja has decided to portray the importance of elephants through their puja and the Jalannagar puja is replicating the famous Nanda Devi mountain.