Friday, on the day of Shasthi of the Sharadiya Durga Utsav, the Athgaon Sarbajanin Durga Puja was inaugurated with grandeur. Established in 1983, this Puja committee is celebrating its 43rd year of Durga Puja this year. This time the Puja pandal has been decorated in the form of ‘Swarnagiri’, modelled on the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple of Hyderabad. The enchanting decoration of the pandal has attracted special attention of devotees and visitors.
The Puja pandal was formally inaugurated by MLA of Central Guwahati constituency Bijoy Gupta, former DGP of Assam G.M. Srivastava, eminent writer and poet Sudha Srivastava and former General Secretary of Assam Pradesh BJP Yuva Morcha Ishan Bharali. On this occasion, MLA Bijoy Gupta and former DGP G.M. Srivastava drew Swastik marks on both sides of the main entrance of the pandal, performed puja, and conveyed Durga Utsav greetings to all.
One of the main attractions of the inaugural ceremony was the devotional Aarti of Maa Durga performed by a group of priests from Kolkata. This Aarti, performed on the lines of Ganga Aarti, made the entire atmosphere devotional. Before this, the guests present on the stage were traditionally welcomed by presenting them with floral gamosas and idols of Maa Durga. The President of the Puja Committee, Pramod Harlalka (Lala), welcomed the guests and devotees in his speech. The invited guests also extended Durga Puja greetings to everyone.
The program was attended by many office bearers and members of the committee including Secretary of the Puja Committee Sandeep Anand (Sonu), Treasurer Vikas Tiwari, Managing Secretary Dibakar Mani Thakur and Jagdish Srivastava from Ranchi. After the inauguration, the guests had darshan of Maa Durga and performed puja.
