Gonda (Awadh region): A meeting of Durga Puja committees was held at Shri Jhulelal Dharamshala in Gonda to discuss preparations for the upcoming Sharadiya Navratri and ensure that the Durga Puja festival is conducted in a peaceful, devotional and festive atmosphere.
Representatives of various committees put forward suggestions and raised issues related to basic civic and safety arrangements. They called for regular cleanliness around puja pandals, repair of overhead electricity wires, pruning of tree branches and uninterrupted power supply throughout Navratri. They also urged that roads along the immersion route be repaired and made pothole-free.
The Central Durga Puja Mahasamiti said its delegation would soon meet the district administration and seek early resolution of these issues.
Mahasamiti founder Om Prakash Soni appealed to all organisers to ensure that celebrations remain peaceful and devotional. President Arun Kumar Shukla urged committees to coordinate with the Mahasamiti and administration and ensure that idols leave for the immersion site on time.
General Secretary Rakesh Verma Guddu said the Mahasamiti was committed to maintaining the traditional, harmonious and devotional character of Durga Puja celebrations. He said the administration had been requested to restrict four-wheelers in areas where idols are installed during the festival to ensure the convenience of devotees.
Each Puja committee has also been asked to nominate two young volunteers for the Mahasamiti’s service team. The volunteers will assist in maintaining arrangements from the beginning of the celebrations through immersion.
Several committee members and organisers attended the meeting, including Sandeep Malhotra, Chhotu Mahant, Raja Babu, Bharat Giri, Amit Gupta, Badkau Gupta, Bablu Verma, Kamal Baba, Anand Verma, Sonu Sonkar, Ashish Modanwal, Bachcha Rastogi, Dinesh Kashyap, Vikas Jaiswal, Atul Srivastava, Ankur Garg, Appu Kaushal, Ajay Singh, Shyam Chandra Gupta, Deepak Maratha, Brijesh Singh, Sadan Kashyap and Baban Yadav.
