By Sujit Chakraborty, IANS
Agartala : Colourful pandals, beating of drums and traditional handicrafts galore – Tripura is immersed in celebrating the five-day long Durga Puja, but under a tight security cover amid fears of separatist violence.
“We cannot rule out possibilities of extremist violence and hence massive security arrangements are in place to ensure the festivity passes off peacefully,” Director General of Police K.T.D. Singh told IANS.
More than 3,500 community Pujas are being organised across the state, including about 500 in the state capital here.
“Unlike previous years there are no reports so far this year from anywhere in the state that tribal guerrillas had come in the way or are creating problems or asking people not to organise Durga Puja,” Singh said.
Despite incidents in the past when tribal rebels targeted Hindus for celebrating religious festivals, Pujas are being organised in tribal-dominated areas this year.
“For the first time in the last 10 years, Durga Puja is being celebrated in about 185 tribal and extremist dominated areas. Tribal youths are busy participating in traditional style,” Singh said.
Authorities have stepped up patrol in vulnerable areas with sniffer dogs and special anti-sabotage groups.
“Assam Rifles and other paramilitary forces trained in counter-insurgency, besides Tripura State Rifles, have been alerted and asked to maintain strict vigil in the extremist-affected hilly areas during the Pujas,” the official said.
With the beating of drums and crowds thronging the pandals, Durga Puja began Wednesday with Hindus from adjoining Bangladesh expected to attend the festivities and rituals in Tripura.
Traditional themes continue to dominate pandal construction and most of the puja organisers have highlighted Indian temples and historical events in their colourful decorations. Traditional arts and handicrafts like by-products of coconuts, bamboo dust, glass and cane have also found place among the decorations.
The Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, Sun temple of Konarak, ONGC’s Bombay High, the devastating Tsunami, a Buddha temple in China, Kashmir’s Dal Lake and imaginary temples are being depicted through the puja pandals.
To attract pandal hoppers, a local club has collected 30 big snakes for display in front of the marquees at a price of Rs.30,000.
“The forest department has allowed the club authorities to display these snakes to sensitise people about conservation of snakes,” said V.K. Vahuguna, additional principal chief conservator of forests of the Tripura government.
Adding colour to the festival is 51-year-old Dilip Bharadwaj from Silchar in southern Assam who will daringly pierce more than 6,000 disposable medical needles on his body in front of a club here in the next couple of days to try for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.