Koraput: Puja crowd defies virus restrictions

JEYPORE: The five-day Dussehra celebrations took off amid Covid-19 curbs in Koraput on Thursday. Though restrictions have been imposed on festivities, people were seen crowding market places in large numbers.

While pandals wore deserted looks, those in Jeypore, Koraput, Kotpad, Sunabeda and Borrigumma were sealed on all four sides to bar entry of devotees. At most places, the puja committee members were seen carrying out rituals of worship in a low key manner without usual lighting and decoration. 

In Jeypore, the idols were made at the homes of artisans unlike previous years where the idols were sculpted on the mandap. One of the committee members at Madala Sahi pandal said,” As the idol size was restricted to four feet, we preferred to get it made in the artisan’s house and took it to the pandal for puja today.”

However, market areas were found buzzing with people in gross violation of Covid-19 safety protocol. People were seen moving around without masks or maintaining physical distance. Even the shopkeepers were found to be lax as much as the enforcement authorities. Parking on roads also led to traffic congestion.

Similar was the scene in Borrigumma where locals crowded one of the pandals throwing social distancing norms to winds.