Bhubaneswar markets see rush for items of Ganesh puja
BHUBANESWAR: Markets in the city witnessed heavy rush on Thursday ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi to be celebrated on Saturday. Even though commissionerate police and Khurda district administration have banned community puja due to increasing cases of Covid-19 in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, people are all set to celebrate the festival at their homes.
With weekend shutdown continuing in Bhubaneswar to check the spread of coronavirus, people thronged in large numbers to the market on Thursday to do last minute shopping and also to avoid Friday rush. “Due to the weekend shutdown, markets are witnessing heavy rush on Fridays. To avoid the rush I preferred to buy materials required for the Ganesh puja on Thursday itself. But the situation was no better as there was huge rush,” said Manoranjan Udgata, who is planning to do Ganesh puja at his home.
Bhubaneswar on Thursday reported 319 positive cases in the last 24 hours of which 172 were from quarantine and 147 local contacts. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has urged shopkeepers to strictly follow the Covid-19 guidelines and maintain social distancing in the markets. “We have been requesting customers to maintain distance and wear masks. But when a large number of people enter into an open market how can we restrict the crowd. People are no more afraid of the virus,” said Ranjan Senapati, a shopkeeper in Unit-1 haat.
Ganesh Chaturthi marks the beginning of festive season and the festival is celebrated with much fanfare in the state. Starting from educational institutes to youth clubs, offices and community puja pandals organise Ganesh puja in a grand manner. But in view of the pandemic and restrictions on puja , the usual excitement is missing. Traders said the sale this year is not even 5% compared to previous year due to the pandemic.