30-feet-tall idol to adorn Siliguri’s Ganesh Puja this yr

Siliguri: With each passing year, the number of Ganesh Pujas has increased in Siliguri. Not only in numbers, but the people of Siliguri can witness numerous Pujas in the city. This year, a 30-feet-tall Ganesh Idol is being made in Pradhan Nagar area in Siliguri.

Pradhan Nagar Ganesh Puja Committee has taken the initiative to attract people towards Ganesh Puja. This will be the first and biggest Ganesh Puja idol in North Bengal. Preparations are in full swing. The Puja will be inaugurated on September 6.

“We can see large idols, big pandals with themes in Durga and Kali Puja in our city but for a few years, the trend has changed. Many big pandals and theme Pujas can be seen in Ganesh Puja too. We had the plan to make a bigger idol for the past few years. Eventually, we can do this this year,” said Debraj Paul, on behalf of the Puja committee.

The idol and ornaments are being made with clay. The work started on August 7 and will finish by September 5.

Rajkumar Paul, an artist from Siliguri and his father Khokan Paul are making the idol. After installing the ornaments, the height will be increased by about 3 feet. The budget of the pandal is around Rs 4 lakh. This is the fourth year of the Puja. The Puja will continue for a week, during which numerous social activities like tree plantation, blood donation camps will be organised.