Cuttack: Gorgeous filigree work may be identity of Cuttack in Odisha, but the silver city attracts people from across the state during Dusshera with captivating idols of Goddess Durga bedecked with gold and silver ornaments.

Be it state capital Bhubaneswar or other urban towns in the state, Cuttack is the ultimate destination for the revellers to visit once a year during 4-day Durga Puja carnival to enjoy the biggest festival.

There is huge crowd all over the millennium city rushing to pandals where idols of Goddess Durga adorned with gold and silver ornaments appear radiant and opulent to Her devotees.

The city, which is famous for Chandi Medha (silver tableau), now shifting its focus on adorning the deities with gold ornaments.

According to reports, Devi Durga is being worshiped at 167 mandaps this year in Cuttack, of which 27 are silver tableaux. The Goddess has been adorned with gold jewelries at 10 puja marquee.publive-image

This year, three new Durga Puja committees have made their entry into elite Chandi Medha club this year. The Chhatra Bazar, Ganga Mandir and Bidanasi Durga puja committees are organising the festival with silver filigree backdrop at their mandaps. With the new addition, the total number of puja pandals bedecking the deities with silver tableau rose to 27 this year.

Sources said that the Chhatra Bazar Puja committee has made Chandi Medha with 250 kg of silver, while Ganda Mandir Puja committee has used 192 kg silver to design its tableau and Bidanasi Durga Puja committee, which is celebrating its platinum jubilee (75th years) has joined in with its Chandi Medha made out of 220 kg silver.

The tableaus at Choudhury Bazar, Sheikh Bazar. Managalabag, Ranihat, Chauliaganj, Kathagadasahi, Haripur-Dolamundai, College Square, Pithapur and Khan Nagar have been decorated with gold. Only, Choudhury Bazar Puja committee has used approximately 25 kg gold this year.

With increasing prices of gold and silver, the ornaments (over 61 kg gold and 96 quintal silver) adorning idols of the Goddess would be valued at around Rs 75 crore.