12 October,2010 08:50 AM IST | | Vatsala Shrangi
Sponsors set to give the festive celebrations a miss this year
The Commonwealth Games have pepped up the city but they are going to play the greatest dampener for Durga Puja celebrations in the national capital this year.
Durga Puja festivities at a CR Park pandal last year. file pics
The ongoing mega sporting event has eaten into the budget of the corporates that they earmark for sponsorships to the major Puja pandals in the city every year. Several companies that used to provide the lion's share of the budgets of several pandals in the Chittranjan Park area have given only a fraction of money of what they used to allocate.
"We don't have many sponsors this time. And a handful of them who have come out have made very small contributions. The Commonwealth Games have drawn most of the companies for it is a bigger event for them," said Jadhav C. Dey, organiser of the Cooperative Ground Puja Committee, CR Park.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
Most of the earlier sponsors, including Samsung, Coca Cola, Vodafone, Tata, and Idea are sponsoring the Games, he said.
There are nine different pujas organised within CR Park. Amongst these, Kali Bari Durga Puja is the most famous and the most elaborate. Only the Kali Bari Puja committee has received some substantial contributions from the sponsors.
"The tentative budget for the Puja this time is around Rs 40 lakh. ONGC has contributed immensely this year. Our Durga Puja is the most famous and so sponsors cannot ignore it anyways, even if the Games are priority this time. Last year was recession; still the budget went up to Rs 36 lakh. For the past few years, it has been between Rs 40-44 lakh for the entire Puja. We are still expecting more sponsors to come in," said P Majumdar, Cultural Secretary of Kali Bari Puja Committee.
After Kali Bari, the Cooperative Ground, Mela Ground, B-Block and Pocket 40 pujas are the most prominent in CR Park. Their budgets almost run parallel between Rs 22-25 lakh.
However, not all of them are lucky. One of the most elaborate Pujas in east Delhi Mayur Vihar Durga Puja Committee is yet to get any major sponsor. "We are hopeful that we will get a sponsor soon. Our budget is about Rs 20 lakh this year," said Utpal Banerjee, a member of the organising committee.
CR Park and Greater Kailash II residents have been issued exclusive car stickers by the Delhi police to ensure security in the area.
Heightened security has been deployed at most puja pandals with barricades to the entry, metal detectors and CCTV cameras.Irrespective of the security hassles this time owing to the Games, the preparations for the Puja are in full swing. The Puja Pandals of CR Park, Mayur Vihar, Mela Ground, Race Course and Kalkaji are heavily decorated.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
"Though the security restrictions might play spoilsport but we are happy that the city is donning a cleaner look," said Pankaj Sen Gupta, member of Cooperative Ground Puja committee andu00a0 a CR Park resident.
| Rock on |
| Several rock bands from across the country have been invited to perform during the cultural events planned as part of the Pujas. |
