Puja lights to spread awareness on voting rights

Jamshedpur: Known for its theme based illumination arrangements on Durga puja each year, the four-decade-old puja committee in Adityapur is going to create awareness among people about the merit of exercising franchise through illumination.
The Shri Shri Sarvajanin Durga Puja Kali Puja Samiti on Adityapur road number seven is decorating the surroundings of the puja mandap with elaborate lighting this year.
With assembly elections in the state likely in November-December this year, the committee has planned to spread awareness about exercising ones voting right among the pandal-hoppers by putting up elaborate lighting reflecting the idea.
“We initially planned several themes but finally agreed on the theme of exercising vote as we found it to be more contemporary since the assembly elections are going to be held in the state,” said puja committee president, Satish Sharma.
He informed that this year the committee has substantially increased the budget for the pandal and illumination work.
“This year almost 40% of the total budget will be spent on illumination work,” said Sharma.
Established in 1972, this puja committee has over the years earned popularity for its illumination work. “It is over ten years from now since we began paying attention to illumination work,” said P K Singh, functionary of the puja committee.
He informed that in the last one decade several issues of social and national importance were highlighted through illumination work by their committee.
“Sporting event like Commonwealth Games to floods at Uttarakhand were beautifully manifested through colourful lighting in the last 10 years,” said Singh.
The committee believes keen pandal-hoppers who come from the rural and semi urban areas like Seraikela, Kharswan, Kandra, Chowka, Gamharia will carry home the message about the merit of casting vote after visiting the pandal.
“We are quite hopeful that our purpose behind arranging theme based illumination will affect the target audience,” said Singh.
The upcoming illumination work has the potential to lift the voting percentage in the coming Assembly polls, said puja committee members.
A 63-year-old entrepreneur of Adityapur had a different take on the illumination arrangement planned at the aforesaid puja pandal. “They should also reflect the poor industrial scenario of the (Adityapur) industrial area through illumination work,” said a small scale unit owner, R P Singh.