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Puja panels steal limelight

CUTTACK: Puja committees in Cuttack city play an active role in maintaining law and order situation and they are increasingly becoming an important public forum for the city people. Even the district administration and the police force depend on these committees to ensure peace and tranquillity.

Although, the practice of Durga puja in the city dates back to 500 years ago, the concept of puja committee was started during 1970s. Subsequently peace committees and Sahi (local) committees were formed to help the administration in organizing festivals in the city. Puja committees can influence the lives of the people to a great extent.

The way the administration took the help of these panels in 1991 to quell a volatile situation is worth mentioning.

During the anti-reservation agitation over the Mandal Commission recommendation in 1991, the law and order situation of the city had gone awry after the death of a student leader in police firing. The local administration was at its wits’ end worrying about the volatile situation.

Intelligence reports had warned of counter attack from agitators in the same night. Police had completely lost control over the law and order situation.

At this tumultuous time, a former collector of Cuttack, who was respected for his integrity, was requested to bail out the beleaguered administration.

Upon his suggestion, the district police chief convened the City Puja Committee meeting.

Tempers ran high at the meeting as a majority of members trained their guns on the police.

Seeing troubles ahead, the former Collector suggested that the safety of life and property of the people now be handed over to puja committees. The district Collector, SP and the then local MLA, also a member of the State Cabinet immediately endorsed the idea.

This news was broadcast in radio and normalcy returned to the troubled city in the same night itself without any further untoward incident. Everybody, including the former Collector was surprised over the role of puja committees.

The members of the panel are not only active during puja days alone. They are with the people throughout the year. Many of them are also engaged in philanthropic and social activities, says the city mayor Nivedita Pradhan. "It’s a privilege to be an active member of the panel irrespective of whatever professional posts you hold", says a senior advocate of Orissa High Court S K Sangneria who heads the Balu Bazaar puja committee.

There are about 150 puja committees in the city and their annual combined spending in various pujas comes around Rs 40 crore which is almost same as the annual income of Cuttack Municipal Corporation.

But now they are diverting a major chunk of their collections towards charity and rehabilitating unemployed youths.

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